Chicago to Decatur

What the Data Says About ORD to DEC

The Chicago to Decatur corridor (ORD → DEC) covers roughly 156 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,614 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 85.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,254 flights were recorded on this pairing — 24 cancelled (1.9%) and 4 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,614 total flights analyzed, the 82.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 85.6-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, May 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 96% on-time, while Aug 2024 came in at 51% on-time — a 45-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to DEC route, the combination of a 82.6% on-time rate, 85.6-minute average delay, 1.9% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.