Chicago to Omaha

What the Data Says About ORD to OMA

The Chicago to Omaha corridor (ORD → OMA) covers roughly 416 miles and is served by 38 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 13,216 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 69.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,970 flights were recorded on this pairing — 76 cancelled (1.5%) and 11 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 38 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 13,216 total flights analyzed, the 78.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 69.7-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 86% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 58% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to OMA route, the combination of a 78.9% on-time rate, 69.7-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 38 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.