Chicago to San Antonio

What the Data Says About ORD to SAT

The Chicago to San Antonio corridor (ORD → SAT) covers roughly 1,041 miles and is served by 37 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,402 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 71.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,253 flights were recorded on this pairing — 39 cancelled (1.2%) and 7 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 37 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,402 total flights analyzed, the 78.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 71.2-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 93% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 57% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to SAT route, the combination of a 78.5% on-time rate, 71.2-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 37 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.