Chicago to Asheville

What the Data Says About ORD to AVL

The Chicago to Asheville corridor (ORD → AVL) covers roughly 536 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,075 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77% on-time rate with an average delay of 66.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,281 flights were recorded on this pairing — 50 cancelled (2.2%) and 5 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 14 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,075 total flights analyzed, the 77% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 66.7-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 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 60% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to AVL route, the combination of a 77% on-time rate, 66.7-minute average delay, 2.2% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.