Louisville to Chicago

What the Data Says About SDF to MDW

The Louisville to Chicago corridor (SDF → MDW) covers roughly 271 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,739 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 87.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 64.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,053 flights were recorded on this pairing — 28 cancelled (1.4%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,739 total flights analyzed, the 87.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 64.3-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, Sep 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 76% on-time — a 18-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SDF to MDW route, the combination of a 87.3% on-time rate, 64.3-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.