Fort Myers to Chicago

What the Data Says About RSW to ORD

The Fort Myers to Chicago corridor (RSW → ORD) covers roughly 1,120 miles and is served by 33 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,331 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 85.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,616 flights were recorded on this pairing — 96 cancelled (1.7%) and 19 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 33 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,331 total flights analyzed, the 81.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 85.1-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 93% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 67% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the RSW to ORD route, the combination of a 81.2% on-time rate, 85.1-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 33 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.