BWI to ORD flight delays
Baltimore, MD (BWI) Chicago, IL (ORD) · 622 miles
2,690 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
74.89%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
2.42%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
95 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
25 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Southwest Airlines arrived on time 21 points more often than Frontier Airlines over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The season swings this route hard. In February it ran 20.7 points more punctual than in December — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
Flights from Baltimore to Chicago run late more often than the average route, though not severely.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on BWI to ORD. Frontier Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in February and worst in December.
Every airline on BWI to ORD
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 1,148 | 75.13% | 1.31% | 88 min | C |
| Envoy Air | 903 | 74.71% | 3.77% | 85 min | D |
| Republic Airways | 274 | 83.02% | 2.92% | 88 min | C |
| Frontier Airlines | 150 | 64.34% | 4% | 177 min | F |
| Southwest Airlines | 124 | 85.37% | 0.81% | 50 min | B |
| SkyWest Airlines | 42 | 43.9% | 2.38% | 158 min | — |
| American Airlines | 26 | 38.46% | 0% | 81 min | — |
| Spirit Airlines | 23 | 82.61% | 0% | 96 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
ORD to BWI Chicago back to Baltimore 71.93% on time DOther routes from Baltimore
Common questions
Are flights from Baltimore to Chicago usually delayed?
74.89% of flights on the BWI to ORD route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Baltimore to Chicago?
Southwest Airlines, at 85.37% on time across 124 flights. The least punctual on the route was Frontier Airlines at 64.34%.
How often are BWI to ORD flights cancelled?
2.42% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 24 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Baltimore to Chicago?
February, when 82.7% of flights arrived on time. The worst was December at 62%.
When BWI to ORD flights are late, how late are they?
About 95 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on BWI to ORD during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →