Norfolk to Philadelphia

What the Data Says About ORF to PHL

The Norfolk to Philadelphia corridor (ORF → PHL) covers roughly 212 miles and is served by 6 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,345 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 92.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,711 flights were recorded on this pairing — 28 cancelled (1.6%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 6 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,345 total flights analyzed, the 81.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 92.3-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 98% on-time, while May 2025 came in at 54% on-time — a 44-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORF to PHL route, the combination of a 81.7% on-time rate, 92.3-minute average delay, 1.6% recent cancellation rate, and 6 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.