Chicago to Madison

What the Data Says About ORD to MSN

The Chicago to Madison corridor (ORD → MSN) covers roughly 108 miles and is served by 34 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,597 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,595 flights were recorded on this pairing — 115 cancelled (2.1%) and 3 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 34 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,597 total flights analyzed, the 79% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.4-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 58% on-time — a 33-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to MSN route, the combination of a 79% on-time rate, 72.4-minute average delay, 2.1% recent cancellation rate, and 34 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.