Chicago to Fayetteville

What the Data Says About ORD to XNA

The Chicago to Fayetteville corridor (ORD → XNA) covers roughly 522 miles and is served by 20 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,240 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 63.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,669 flights were recorded on this pairing — 48 cancelled (1.3%) and 6 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 20 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,240 total flights analyzed, the 81.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 63.1-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 91% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 63% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to XNA route, the combination of a 81.3% on-time rate, 63.1-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 20 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.