ORD to SEA flight delays
Chicago, IL (ORD) Seattle, WA (SEA) · 1,721 miles
582 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
67.78%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.89%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
63 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
22 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 27.1 points more often than American 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.
This is a late route. Flights from Chicago to Seattle miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
This is a thin route — 582 flights across the whole period. On a route this infrequent a cancellation is far more costly than the rate suggests, because the next departure may not be the same day.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, United Airlines arrived on time most often on ORD to SEA. American Airlines was late most often.
Every airline on ORD to SEA
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 192 | 63.83% | 2.08% | 67 min | D |
| American Airlines | 150 | 52.74% | 2.67% | 64 min | F |
| United Airlines | 150 | 79.87% | 0.67% | 44 min | B |
| Delta Air Lines | 90 | 80.68% | 2.22% | 77 min | — |
The return leg
SEA to ORD Seattle back to Chicago 72.49% on time DOther routes from Chicago
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on ORD to SEA during March 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 →