Route profile
FLL→ORD
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Chicago, 1,182 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 11% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 9,569 flights. How this is calculated
FLL → ORD arrives on time 71.0% of the time; the return trip, ORD → FLL, arrives on time 74.7% of the time, a 3.7-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
FLL → ORD spends 35.9 minutes on the ground on a 1,182-mile trip: 18.6 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at FLL and 17.3 minutes from touchdown to gate at ORD.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route's worst arrivals run unusually far past its typical one, a bigger gap than 91% of 4,598 comparable routes.
A typical arrival is 3 min early, but the worst tenth run 72 minutes worse than that.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 4,598 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where FLL to ORD differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
FLL to ORD struggles most at 3 PM: 51.6% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 18.6 points behind the 70.2% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 21.1 points.
FLL to ORD is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 7 PM: 75.1% arrive on time, 9.5 points ahead of the 65.6% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 7.3 points.
Sunday is the day FLL to ORD slips furthest against routes of similar length, 65.6% on time where they average 73.4%, 7.8 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 9.2 points.
In March, FLL to ORD runs 15.1 points below routes of similar length, 60.5% on time to 75.6%. Against all other routes the gap is 17.4 points.
Spirit Airlines’ flights on FLL to ORD arrive on time 62.6% of the time, 11.1 points below the 73.7% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 12.7 points.
FLL to ORD against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 3 PM departures | 51.6% | routes of similar length | 70.2% | −18.6 pts | 349 here, 120,495 there |
| Hour: 7 PM departures | 75.1% | routes of similar length | 65.6% | +9.5 pts | 382 here, 130,457 there |
| Weekday: Sunday | 65.6% | routes of similar length | 73.4% | −7.8 pts | 1,407 here, 314,297 there |
| Month: March | 60.5% | routes of similar length | 75.6% | −15.1 pts | 1,015 here, 191,192 there |
| Airline: Spirit Airlines | 62.6% | routes of similar length | 73.7% | −11.1 pts | 3,384 here, 129,757 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 1,182 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why FLL → ORD flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
FLL → ORD cancelled 139 of 9,569 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 69. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 53.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 129 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 139 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
74 cancellations, 53.2% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
48 cancellations, 34.5% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
17 cancellations, 12.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
139 coded cancellations were recorded on FLL → ORD; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
69 min late
against a median of 3 min early
FLL → ORD has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 3 min early, but the worst tenth are 72 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 9,569 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at ORD after arriving from FLL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 45% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 28% | High risk |
| 60 min | 19% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 7.3% | Some risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.45% of the time and diverts 0.43% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 9,389 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 69 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 9,569 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
FLL → ORD flights departing 9 AM–12 PM arrived on time 85.2% of the time, against 54.7% for 3–6 PM departures, a gap of 30.5 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 90.1% on time from 306 flights
- 7 AM: 83.8% on time from 1,535 flights
- 8 AM: 78.5% on time from 307 flights
- 9 AM: 88.5% on time from 318 flights
- 10 AM: too few flights to score
- 11 AM: 78.3% on time from 184 flights
- 12 PM: 83.8% on time from 1,335 flights
- 1 PM: 72.8% on time from 758 flights
- 2 PM: 69.0% on time from 770 flights
- 3 PM: 51.6% on time from 356 flights
- 4 PM: 55.9% on time from 1,530 flights
- 5 PM: 53.3% on time from 449 flights
- 6 PM: 60.8% on time from 341 flights
- 7 PM: 75.1% on time from 387 flights
- 8 PM: 54.8% on time from 320 flights
- 9 PM: 58.3% on time from 526 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why FLL → ORD runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for FLL → ORD. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on FLL → ORD, at 33.0%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 9 AM–12 PM departures arrived on time 85.2% of the time and 3–6 PM departures 54.7%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 4,063 | 78.3% | 1.35% | -5 min | 7.5% |
| Spirit Airlines | 3,442 | 62.6% | 1.51% | 3 min | 14.8% |
| American Airlines | 1,779 | 71.7% | 1.24% | -5 min | 12.9% |
United Airlines flew 43.8% of the 9,284 flights listed.
United Airlines arrived on time 15.7 percentage points more often than Spirit Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Miami to Chicago
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA→ORD Miami to Chicago | 13,637 | 74.3% | 1.31% | -6 min | 56 |
| FLL→ORD this route Fort Lauderdale to Chicago | 9,569 | 71.0% | 1.45% | -3 min | 47 |
MIA → ORD is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 74.3% on time, against 71.0% for FLL → ORD.
Flying to ORD from the Miami area? Compare FLL, MIA for ORD, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 10.7 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 70.7%
- Feb: 75.7%
- Mar: 60.5%
- Apr: 74.3%
- May: 71.0%
- Jun: 68.9%
- Jul: 60.9%
- Aug: 64.5%
- Sep: 76.0%
- Oct: 78.9%
- Nov: 78.5%
- Dec: 74.2%
March is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 18.4 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 47.3% from 149 flights
- August 2023: 62.2% from 202 flights
- September 2023: 66.0% from 207 flights
- October 2023: 80.2% from 253 flights
- November 2023: 77.0% from 265 flights
- December 2023: 75.3% from 304 flights
- January 2024: 66.2% from 299 flights
- February 2024: 77.5% from 291 flights
- March 2024: 59.9% from 318 flights
- April 2024: 76.5% from 301 flights
- May 2024: 59.8% from 280 flights
- June 2024: 59.6% from 214 flights
- July 2024: 50.0% from 185 flights
- August 2024: 55.0% from 215 flights
- September 2024: 77.3% from 176 flights
- October 2024: 80.2% from 193 flights
- November 2024: 87.6% from 258 flights
- December 2024: 79.7% from 281 flights
- January 2025: 84.4% from 278 flights
- February 2025: 82.8% from 242 flights
- March 2025: 73.4% from 294 flights
- April 2025: 82.8% from 271 flights
- May 2025: 77.5% from 224 flights
- June 2025: 74.1% from 194 flights
- July 2025: 71.2% from 211 flights
- August 2025: 76.9% from 203 flights
- September 2025: 84.9% from 206 flights
- October 2025: 76.3% from 219 flights
- November 2025: 71.5% from 287 flights
- December 2025: 68.9% from 360 flights
- January 2026: 63.9% from 384 flights
- February 2026: 69.4% from 356 flights
- March 2026: 51.8% from 440 flights
- April 2026: 64.6% from 325 flights
- May 2026: 78.3% from 229 flights
- June 2026: 73.4% from 202 flights
- July 2026: 68.3% from 253 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 68.8% against 77.6% in the 12 months before — declining by 8.8 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 9,569 FLL → ORD flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed