Chicago to State College

What the Data Says About ORD to SCE

The Chicago to State College corridor (ORD → SCE) covers roughly 528 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,288 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 74.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,455 flights were recorded on this pairing — 16 cancelled (1.1%) and 7 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,288 total flights analyzed, the 78.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 74.2-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Oct 2023 came in at 67% on-time — a 24-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to SCE route, the combination of a 78.3% on-time rate, 74.2-minute average delay, 1.1% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.