Route reliability
Chicago (ORD) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Chicago, IL (ORD) to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW), September 2025 to August 2026.
Chicago, ILDallas/Fort Worth, TX
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
ORD to DFW
Chicago, IL to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
- On time
- 68.0%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 2.7%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
- 60+ min late
- 12.5%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 7,111in 12 months7 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- United Airlines72.6% on time · 2,080 flights
On time less often than the U.S. average, with more cancellations.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. United Airlines Most reliable | 72.6% | 1.3% | 11.2% | 75 min | 0.8% | 2,080 |
| 2. Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle Small sample (under 300 flights) | 69.9% | 3.9% | 12.4% | 71 min | 0.7% | 153 |
| 3. American Airlines | 66.1% | 3.2% | 12.9% | 89 min | 0.8% | 4,297 |
| 4. Frontier Airlines | 65.6% | 3.9% | 14.6% | 83 min | 0.4% | 465 |
| 5. Spirit Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 56.2% | 4.2% | 14.6% | 85 min | 1.0% | 96 |
| Republic Airways Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle, Delta Connection, United Express | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 12 | ||||
| SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 8 | ||||
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
United Airlines has the strongest record on this route.
- United Airlines had the best on-time record from Chicago (ORD) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): 72.6% of its 2,080 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 65.6% for Frontier Airlines.
- Republic Airways, SkyWest Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 2.7% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 37), 0.8 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 12.5% of flights, about 1 in 8, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 84 min.
- Overall, 68.0% of flights on this route arrived on time, 7.6 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (81.5% on time) and June the least reliable (61.4%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 5.3% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (82.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 4 pm to 5 pm were the least (52.4%).
- In the other direction, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Chicago (ORD), 66.5% of flights were on time and 2.8% were cancelled. Compare airlines DFW to ORD.
Best and worst months to fly ORD to DFW
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 68.0%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65.8% | 1,469 |
| February | 80.5% | 1,402 |
| March | 71.2% | 1,582 |
| April | 66.8% | 1,598 |
| May | 62.8% | 1,700 |
| June | 61.4% | 1,848 |
| July | 63.9% | 1,910 |
| August | 65.8% | 1,872 |
| September | 78.6% | 1,680 |
| October | 81.5% | 1,839 |
| November | 78.2% | 1,649 |
| December | 78.2% | 1,621 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | February (86.1%) | May (66.7%) |
| American Airlines | October (82.7%) | June (59.0%) |
| Frontier Airlines | August (66.7%) | June (52.9%) |
| Spirit Airlines | October (85.3%) | January (49.1%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 75.7% | 535 |
| Oct 2025 | 74.1% | 607 |
| Nov 2025 | 69.4% | 592 |
| Dec 2025 | 68.1% | 551 |
| Jan 2026 | 63.2% | 500 |
| Feb 2026 | 80.1% | 508 |
| Mar 2026 | 63.8% | 555 |
| Apr 2026 | 63.7% | 579 |
| May 2026 | 67.3% | 630 |
| Jun 2026 | 59.0% | 666 |
| Jul 2026 | 69.1% | 692 |
| Aug 2026 | 64.9% | 696 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 82.4% | 352 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 82.0% | 311 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 78.4% | 552 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 73.4% | 640 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 74.4% | 503 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 67.5% | 536 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 69.3% | 420 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 71.9% | 448 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 69.7% | 469 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 63.0% | 238 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 62.8% | 640 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 52.4% | 340 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 56.4% | 204 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 58.2% | 423 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 61.2% | 379 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 60.2% | 357 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 53.8% | 223 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 68.9% | 74 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | Insufficient sample | 2 |
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 Chicago, IL (ORD) to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW), 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.