Chicago to Knoxville

What the Data Says About ORD to TYS

The Chicago to Knoxville corridor (ORD → TYS) covers roughly 475 miles and is served by 29 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 7,733 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 81.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,777 flights were recorded on this pairing — 66 cancelled (1.7%) and 8 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 29 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 7,733 total flights analyzed, the 77.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 81.8-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 55% on-time — a 33-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to TYS route, the combination of a 77.6% on-time rate, 81.8-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 29 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.