Raleigh/Durham to Chicago

What the Data Says About RDU to ORD

The Raleigh/Durham to Chicago corridor (RDU → ORD) covers roughly 646 miles and is served by 38 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 15,272 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82% on-time rate with an average delay of 87.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,447 flights were recorded on this pairing — 91 cancelled (1.4%) and 16 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 38 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 15,272 total flights analyzed, the 82% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 87.0-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 66% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the RDU to ORD route, the combination of a 82% on-time rate, 87.0-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 38 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.