Louisville to Chicago

What the Data Says About SDF to ORD

The Louisville to Chicago corridor (SDF → ORD) covers roughly 286 miles and is served by 24 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 10,855 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 79.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,584 flights were recorded on this pairing — 66 cancelled (1.4%) and 9 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 24 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 10,855 total flights analyzed, the 83.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 79.3-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 90% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 70% on-time — a 20-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SDF to ORD route, the combination of a 83.6% on-time rate, 79.3-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 24 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.