Route Reliability

Route reliability

Nashville (BNA) to Chicago (ORD): which airline is most on time?

On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Nashville, TN (BNA) to Chicago, IL (ORD), September 2025 to August 2026.

Historical performance Official DOT data through August 2026 · Not live flight status

Nashville, TNChicago, IL

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Three-letter airport codes, nonstop U.S. domestic flights. One direction at a time.

Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026

BNA to ORD

Nashville, TN to Chicago, IL

On time
68.6%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
Cancelled
2.9%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
60+ min late
12.6%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
Scheduled flights
5,045in 12 months9 airlines
Most reliable airline
Envoy Air70.7% on time · 920 flights

On time less often than the U.S. average, with more cancellations.

Compared with all U.S. flights, September 2025 to August 2026. “About average” means within 1.5 points for on time, 0.3 for cancelled and 1 for 60+ minutes late.

Airlines on this route

Ranked by on-time arrival

Airlines from BNA to ORD, September 2025 to August 2026. Rates are shares of all scheduled flights.
Airline On time Cancelled 60+ min late Avg delay when late Diverted Flights
1. Southwest Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) 78.6% 1.8% 5.8% 58 min 0.0% 276
2. Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle Most reliable 70.7% 3.5% 10.7% 85 min 0.7% 920
3. Republic Airways Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle, Delta Connection, United Express 69.9% 3.1% 9.6% 74 min 0.2% 552
4. United Airlines 69.8% 2.2% 11.3% 96 min 0.3% 1,509
5. American Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) 66.9% 1.0% 19.0% 138 min 0.3% 290
6. SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska 63.7% 3.8% 16.6% 105 min 0.1% 1,433
Frontier Airlines Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) 46
Spirit Airlines Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) 16
PSA Airlines Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) 3

On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.

What this means

Envoy Air has the strongest record on this route.

  • Envoy Air had the best on-time record from Nashville (BNA) to Chicago (ORD): 70.7% of its 920 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 63.7% for SkyWest Airlines.
  • Southwest Airlines (78.6% on 276 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
  • Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, PSA Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
  • 2.9% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 34), 1.0 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 12.6% of flights, about 1 in 8, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 96 min.
  • Overall, 68.6% of flights on this route arrived on time, 7.0 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, September was the most reliable month on this route (81.3% on time) and July the least reliable (65.2%).
  • Cancellations peaked in January, when 8.1% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (83.7% on time); flights scheduled to depart 7 pm to 8 pm were the least (50.8%).
  • In the other direction, Chicago (ORD) to Nashville (BNA), 67.4% of flights were on time and 2.5% were cancelled. Compare airlines ORD to BNA.

Best and worst months to fly BNA to ORD

Jan 70.6%
Feb 80.4%
Mar 72.8%
Apr 76.0%
May 71.7%
Jun 67.9%
Jul 65.2%
Aug 70.8%
Sep 81.3%
Oct 78.9%
Nov 78.2%
Dec 77.3%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 68.6%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 70.6% 1,068
February 80.4% 1,044
March 72.8% 1,250
April 76.0% 1,325
May 71.7% 1,348
June 67.9% 1,228
July 65.2% 1,223
August 70.8% 1,261
September 81.3% 1,211
October 78.9% 1,317
November 78.2% 1,212
December 77.3% 1,121
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Southwest Airlines February (91.6%) July (62.9%)
Envoy Air February (77.2%) June (63.6%)
Republic Airways October (85.5%) July (57.1%)
United Airlines September (85.3%) January (67.4%)
SkyWest Airlines September (80.6%) July (66.2%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 81.1%
Oct 72.6%
Nov 65.3%
Dec 65.4%
Jan 68.1%
Feb 71.1%
Mar 59.6%
Apr 68.8%
May 72.2%
Jun 67.3%
Jul 68.2%
Aug 63.6%
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
All airlines combined, September 2025 to August 2026. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Sep 2025 81.1% 397
Oct 2025 72.6% 478
Nov 2025 65.3% 427
Dec 2025 65.4% 367
Jan 2026 68.1% 326
Feb 2026 71.1% 329
Mar 2026 59.6% 446
Apr 2026 68.8% 512
May 2026 72.2% 497
Jun 2026 67.3% 413
Jul 2026 68.2% 424
Aug 2026 63.6% 429

Best and worst departure times

<6a 83.7%
6a 82.8%
7a 65.9%
8a 73.8%
9a 83.1%
10a 79.7%
11a 76.3%
12p 77.2%
1p 64.9%
2p 63.2%
3p 57.6%
4p 54.1%
5p 52.2%
6p 53.5%
7p 50.8%
8p Insufficient sample
9p Insufficient sample
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at BNA, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing before 6 am 83.7% 221
Departing 6 am to 7 am 82.8% 413
Departing 7 am to 8 am 65.9% 513
Departing 8 am to 9 am 73.8% 210
Departing 9 am to 10 am 83.1% 449
Departing 10 am to 11 am 79.7% 459
Departing 11 am to noon 76.3% 371
Departing noon to 1 pm 77.2% 316
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 64.9% 77
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 63.2% 389
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 57.6% 337
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 54.1% 438
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 52.2% 232
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 53.5% 318
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 50.8% 260
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm Insufficient sample 23
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm Insufficient sample 19
Woman at an airport window watching a plane take off
Photo: Depositphotos (licensed stock, illustrative only). Credits

Sources & data dates

Source
U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
Period
September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
Data through
August 2026
Processed
2026-11-03
Scope
Nonstop scheduled flights from Nashville, TN (BNA) to Chicago, IL (ORD), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
Method
Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.

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