Fayetteville to Chicago

What the Data Says About XNA to ORD

The Fayetteville to Chicago corridor (XNA → ORD) covers roughly 522 miles and is served by 21 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,253 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,671 flights were recorded on this pairing — 46 cancelled (1.3%) and 9 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 21 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,253 total flights analyzed, the 82.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.0-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, Apr 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 65% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the XNA to ORD route, the combination of a 82.9% on-time rate, 75.0-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 21 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.