Chicago to Springfield

What the Data Says About ORD to SGF

The Chicago to Springfield corridor (ORD → SGF) covers roughly 438 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,266 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 69.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,259 flights were recorded on this pairing — 48 cancelled (1.5%) and 14 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,266 total flights analyzed, the 80.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 69.6-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 May 2024 came in at 56% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to SGF route, the combination of a 80.2% on-time rate, 69.6-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.