Chicago to Sarasota/Bradenton

What the Data Says About MDW to SRQ

The Chicago to Sarasota/Bradenton corridor (MDW → SRQ) covers roughly 1,035 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,549 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 74.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 57.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,013 flights were recorded on this pairing — 15 cancelled (1.5%) and 4 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 2,549 total flights analyzed, the 74.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 57.4-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, Mar 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 79% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 64% on-time — a 15-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDW to SRQ route, the combination of a 74.9% on-time rate, 57.4-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.