Chicago to Nashville

What the Data Says About ORD to BNA

The Chicago to Nashville corridor (ORD → BNA) covers roughly 409 miles and is served by 49 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 26,413 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79% on-time rate with an average delay of 74.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 9,651 flights were recorded on this pairing — 146 cancelled (1.5%) and 18 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 49 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 26,413 total flights analyzed, the 79% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 74.6-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to BNA route, the combination of a 79% on-time rate, 74.6-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 49 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.