Manhattan/Ft. Riley to Chicago

What the Data Says About MHK to ORD

The Manhattan/Ft. Riley to Chicago corridor (MHK → ORD) covers roughly 501 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,008 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 112.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,312 flights were recorded on this pairing — 28 cancelled (2.1%) and 1 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,008 total flights analyzed, the 85.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 112.9-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 2023 posted the best performance on this corridor at 96% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MHK to ORD route, the combination of a 85.4% on-time rate, 112.9-minute average delay, 2.1% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.