Chicago to Columbus

What the Data Says About ORD to CMH

The Chicago to Columbus corridor (ORD → CMH) covers roughly 296 miles and is served by 26 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 18,701 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 68.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,817 flights were recorded on this pairing — 93 cancelled (1.2%) and 7 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 26 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 18,701 total flights analyzed, the 79.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 68.3-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 88% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 59% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to CMH route, the combination of a 79.7% on-time rate, 68.3-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 26 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.