Chicago to Orlando

What the Data Says About MDW to MCO

The Chicago to Orlando corridor (MDW → MCO) covers roughly 990 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,898 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 63.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,687 flights were recorded on this pairing — 98 cancelled (1.7%) and 29 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,898 total flights analyzed, the 77.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 63.4-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 93% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 60% on-time — a 33-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDW to MCO route, the combination of a 77.7% on-time rate, 63.4-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.