Chicago to Cleveland

What the Data Says About ORD to CLE

The Chicago to Cleveland corridor (ORD → CLE) covers roughly 316 miles and is served by 36 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 18,627 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,474 flights were recorded on this pairing — 146 cancelled (2.0%) and 8 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 36 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 18,627 total flights analyzed, the 79.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.6-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, Apr 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 85% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 61% on-time — a 24-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to CLE route, the combination of a 79.7% on-time rate, 72.6-minute average delay, 2.0% recent cancellation rate, and 36 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.