ORD to FAI flight delays
Chicago, IL (ORD) Fairbanks, AK (FAI) · 2,785 miles
148 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
67.35%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.68%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
61 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
21 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. FAI to ORD arrives on time 12.1 points more often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
This is a late route. Flights from Chicago to Fairbanks miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
Only United Airlines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, United Airlines arrived on time most often on ORD to FAI. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in April.
Every airline on ORD to FAI
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 | 148 | 67.35% | 0.68% | 61 min | D |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
FAI to ORD Fairbanks back to Chicago 79.45% on time COther routes from Chicago
Common questions
Are flights from Chicago to Fairbanks usually delayed?
67.35% of flights on the ORD to FAI route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Chicago to Fairbanks?
Only United Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 148 flights and 67.35% arriving on time.
How often are ORD to FAI flights cancelled?
0.68% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 7 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When ORD to FAI flights are late, how late are they?
About 61 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 ORD to FAI 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 →