ORD to RSW flight delays
Chicago, IL (ORD) Fort Myers, FL (RSW) · 1,120 miles
3,239 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
76.1%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.64%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
70 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
18 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. United Airlines arrived on time 21 points more often than Spirit 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 September it ran 24.3 points more punctual than in March — 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.
The Chicago to Fort Myers route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, United Airlines arrived on time most often on ORD to RSW. Spirit Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in March.
Every airline on ORD to RSW
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 | 1,612 | 81.82% | 0.5% | 67 min | B |
| American Airlines | 1,116 | 72.43% | 1.88% | 70 min | D |
| Spirit Airlines | 372 | 60.8% | 5.38% | 79 min | F |
| Southwest Airlines | 103 | 78% | 2.91% | 50 min | D |
| Frontier Airlines | 36 | 77.14% | 2.78% | 75 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
RSW to ORD Fort Myers back to Chicago 76.46% on time DOther routes from Chicago
Common questions
Are flights from Chicago to Fort Myers usually delayed?
76.1% of flights on the ORD to RSW route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Chicago to Fort Myers?
United Airlines, at 81.82% on time across 1,612 flights. The least punctual on the route was Spirit Airlines at 60.8%.
How often are ORD to RSW flights cancelled?
1.64% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 16 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Chicago to Fort Myers?
September, when 91.7% of flights arrived on time. The worst was March at 67.4%.
When ORD to RSW flights are late, how late are they?
About 70 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 RSW 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 →