Springfield to Chicago

What the Data Says About SPI to ORD

The Springfield to Chicago corridor (SPI → ORD) covers roughly 174 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 1,030 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84% on-time rate with an average delay of 95.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,030 flights were recorded on this pairing — 53 cancelled (5.1%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 1,030 total flights analyzed, the 84% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 95.9-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, Aug 2020 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 73% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SPI to ORD route, the combination of a 84% on-time rate, 95.9-minute average delay, 5.1% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.