Chicago to New York

What the Data Says About MDW to LGA

The Chicago to New York corridor (MDW → LGA) covers roughly 725 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,213 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 60.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,765 flights were recorded on this pairing — 113 cancelled (2.4%) and 18 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,213 total flights analyzed, the 77.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 60.1-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDW to LGA route, the combination of a 77.3% on-time rate, 60.1-minute average delay, 2.4% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.