Chicago to Buffalo

What the Data Says About ORD to BUF

The Chicago to Buffalo corridor (ORD → BUF) covers roughly 474 miles and is served by 37 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,803 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79% on-time rate with an average delay of 71.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,997 flights were recorded on this pairing — 64 cancelled (1.6%) and 9 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 37 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,803 total flights analyzed, the 79% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 71.9-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, Apr 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to BUF route, the combination of a 79% on-time rate, 71.9-minute average delay, 1.6% recent cancellation rate, and 37 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.