Route reliability
Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to Chicago (ORD): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) to Chicago, IL (ORD), September 2025 to August 2026.
Raleigh/Durham, NCChicago, IL
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
RDU to ORD
Raleigh/Durham, NC to Chicago, IL
- On time
- 71.9%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 2.8%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
- 60+ min late
- 10.8%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 3,740in 12 months7 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- American Airlines77.8% on time · 518 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. SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska Small sample (under 300 flights) | 77.9% | 3.2% | 7.8% | 195 min | 0.6% | 154 |
| 2. American Airlines Most reliable | 77.8% | 3.3% | 8.9% | 152 min | 0.2% | 518 |
| 3. United Airlines | 73.6% | 1.7% | 9.3% | 94 min | 0.2% | 1,292 |
| 4. Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | 71.2% | 1.9% | 11.7% | 87 min | 0.6% | 521 |
| 5. Republic Airways Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle, Delta Connection, United Express | 68.2% | 4.0% | 12.2% | 80 min | 0.7% | 1,155 |
| 6. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 55.1% | 5.1% | 23.5% | 155 min | 0.0% | 98 |
| PSA Airlines Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 2 | ||||
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
American Airlines has the strongest record on this route.
- American Airlines had the best on-time record from Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to Chicago (ORD): 77.8% of its 518 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 68.2% for Republic Airways.
- SkyWest Airlines (77.9% on 154 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
- PSA Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 2.8% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 36), 0.9 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 10.8% of flights, about 1 in 9, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 100 min.
- Overall, 71.9% of flights on this route arrived on time, 3.7 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, November was the most reliable month on this route (83.5% on time) and July the least reliable (66.3%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 4.9% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (88.6% on time); flights scheduled to depart 5 pm to 6 pm were the least (43.5%).
- In the other direction, Chicago (ORD) to Raleigh/Durham (RDU), 71.2% of flights were on time and 2.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines ORD to RDU.
Best and worst months to fly RDU to ORD
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 71.9%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75.0% | 692 |
| February | 80.9% | 671 |
| March | 76.7% | 817 |
| April | 77.0% | 856 |
| May | 78.2% | 946 |
| June | 72.9% | 865 |
| July | 66.3% | 898 |
| August | 71.9% | 924 |
| September | 83.0% | 799 |
| October | 83.3% | 868 |
| November | 83.5% | 823 |
| December | 81.8% | 793 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | March (91.4%) | July (74.9%) |
| United Airlines | October (87.3%) | July (69.2%) |
| Envoy Air | April (79.7%) | July (57.8%) |
| Republic Airways | November (82.9%) | July (56.7%) |
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 | 82.7% | 266 |
| Oct 2025 | 70.9% | 327 |
| Nov 2025 | 72.2% | 309 |
| Dec 2025 | 71.0% | 290 |
| Jan 2026 | 69.5% | 233 |
| Feb 2026 | 77.5% | 244 |
| Mar 2026 | 65.8% | 316 |
| Apr 2026 | 68.9% | 354 |
| May 2026 | 79.7% | 374 |
| Jun 2026 | 72.2% | 327 |
| Jul 2026 | 63.9% | 341 |
| Aug 2026 | 70.2% | 359 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 88.6% | 105 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 87.0% | 409 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 77.7% | 265 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 81.8% | 198 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 85.1% | 154 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 85.4% | 444 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 71.4% | 56 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 76.2% | 160 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 77.3% | 528 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | Insufficient sample | 41 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 67.9% | 277 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 60.5% | 271 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 43.5% | 356 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 58.4% | 269 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 52.9% | 140 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | Insufficient sample | 32 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | Insufficient sample | 15 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | Insufficient sample | 20 |
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 Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) 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.