Chicago to Harrisburg

What the Data Says About ORD to MDT

The Chicago to Harrisburg corridor (ORD → MDT) covers roughly 594 miles and is served by 24 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,647 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80% on-time rate with an average delay of 68.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,478 flights were recorded on this pairing — 38 cancelled (1.5%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 24 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,647 total flights analyzed, the 80% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 68.4-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 95% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 60% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to MDT route, the combination of a 80% on-time rate, 68.4-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 24 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.