Chicago to Minneapolis

What the Data Says About MDW to MSP

The Chicago to Minneapolis corridor (MDW → MSP) covers roughly 349 miles and is served by 11 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,198 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 68.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,554 flights were recorded on this pairing — 41 cancelled (0.7%) and 2 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 11 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,198 total flights analyzed, the 81.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 68.0-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 92% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 48% on-time — a 44-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDW to MSP route, the combination of a 81.7% on-time rate, 68.0-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 11 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.