Pittsburgh to Chicago

What the Data Says About PIT to ORD

The Pittsburgh to Chicago corridor (PIT → ORD) covers roughly 413 miles and is served by 43 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,248 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 86.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,634 flights were recorded on this pairing — 85 cancelled (1.3%) and 7 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 43 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,248 total flights analyzed, the 85.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 86.8-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 97% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 69% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the PIT to ORD route, the combination of a 85.6% on-time rate, 86.8-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 43 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.