Chicago to Pittsburgh

What the Data Says About ORD to PIT

The Chicago to Pittsburgh corridor (ORD → PIT) covers roughly 413 miles and is served by 42 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,381 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 76.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,631 flights were recorded on this pairing — 83 cancelled (1.3%) and 7 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 42 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,381 total flights analyzed, the 80.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 76.2-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 88% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 64% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to PIT route, the combination of a 80.9% on-time rate, 76.2-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 42 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.