Chicago to Fort Wayne

What the Data Says About ORD to FWA

The Chicago to Fort Wayne corridor (ORD → FWA) covers roughly 157 miles and is served by 6 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,794 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 80.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,459 flights were recorded on this pairing — 80 cancelled (2.3%) and 6 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 6 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,794 total flights analyzed, the 77.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 80.6-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 44% on-time — a 45-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to FWA route, the combination of a 77.1% on-time rate, 80.6-minute average delay, 2.3% recent cancellation rate, and 6 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.