Chicago to Birmingham

What the Data Says About ORD to BHM

The Chicago to Birmingham corridor (ORD → BHM) covers roughly 584 miles and is served by 19 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,664 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 64.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,783 flights were recorded on this pairing — 18 cancelled (1.0%) and 3 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 19 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,664 total flights analyzed, the 81.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 64.3-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 97% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 60% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to BHM route, the combination of a 81.3% on-time rate, 64.3-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 19 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.