Chicago to Key West

What the Data Says About ORD to EYW

The Chicago to Key West corridor (ORD → EYW) covers roughly 1,251 miles and is served by 16 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,778 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 75.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 60.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,425 flights were recorded on this pairing — 18 cancelled (1.3%) and 11 diverted (0.8%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 16 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,778 total flights analyzed, the 75.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 60.9-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Feb 2022 came in at 45% on-time — a 42-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to EYW route, the combination of a 75.1% on-time rate, 60.9-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 16 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.