Route profile
ORD→CLT
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Chicago to Charlotte, 599 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 27% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 13,780 flights. How this is calculated
ORD → CLT arrives on time 75.9% of the time; the return trip, CLT → ORD, arrives on time 74.2% of the time.
ORD → CLT spends 34.8 minutes on the ground on a 599-mile trip: 21.6 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at ORD and 13.2 minutes from touchdown to gate at CLT.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
The airline matters unusually much on this route, a wider carrier-to-carrier gap than 94% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Republic Airways arrived on time 82.3% of the time, against 61.8% for SkyWest Airlines, flying the exact same route.
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 2,692 in the comparison.
Why ORD → CLT flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
ORD → CLT cancelled 196 of 13,780 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 70. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 78.1% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 90 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 196 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.
153 cancellations, 78.1% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
30 cancellations, 15.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
13 cancellations, 6.6% 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.
196 coded cancellations were recorded on ORD → CLT; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
55 min late
against a median of 5 min early
ORD → CLT has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 5 min early, but the worst tenth are 60 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 13,780 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at CLT after arriving from ORD.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 40% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 16% | High risk |
| 90 min | 9.0% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.0% | 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 1.42% of the time and diverts 0.14% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 13,565 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 55 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 13,780 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
ORD → CLT flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 85.1% of the time, against 63.8% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 21.3 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (ORD).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 8.7 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.3 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | |||||||
| 6 AM–7 AM | |||||||
| 7 AM–8 AM | |||||||
| 8 AM–9 AM | |||||||
| 9 AM–10 AM | |||||||
| 10 AM–11 AM | |||||||
| 11 AM–12 PM | |||||||
| 12 PM–1 PM | |||||||
| 1 PM–2 PM | |||||||
| 2 PM–3 PM | |||||||
| 3 PM–4 PM | |||||||
| 4 PM–5 PM | |||||||
| 5 PM–6 PM | |||||||
| 6 PM–7 PM |
On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 50–59
- 60–69
- 70–79
- 80–89
- 90–99
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures before 5 AM and after 7 PM (689 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 91.4% on time155 flights | 92.6% on time149 flights | 91.0% on time149 flights | 91.2% on time161 flights | 89.7% on time159 flights | 85.5% on time156 flights | 92.3% on time156 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 59 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 50 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score | 47 flights, too few to score | 50 flights, too few to score |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 85.3% on time304 flights | 85.3% on time286 flights | 87.6% on time276 flights | 83.5% on time323 flights | 80.3% on time298 flights | 84.5% on time278 flights | 85.0% on time324 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 79.4% on time182 flights | 85.5% on time153 flights | 85.5% on time169 flights | 77.9% on time157 flights | 77.5% on time183 flights | 84.3% on time157 flights | 80.5% on time159 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 69 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 76 flights, too few to score | 75 flights, too few to score | 71 flights, too few to score | 72 flights, too few to score | 70 flights, too few to score |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 84.7% on time128 flights | 85.5% on time125 flights | 83.5% on time129 flights | 119 flights, too few to score | 77.7% on time122 flights | 105 flights, too few to score | 114 flights, too few to score |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 47 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 44 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 45 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 117 flights, too few to score | 115 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score | 67.2% on time120 flights | 117 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score | 70.0% on time120 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 71.6% on time143 flights | 76.3% on time139 flights | 77.7% on time142 flights | 72.5% on time140 flights | 74.1% on time143 flights | 78.2% on time134 flights | 71.9% on time141 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 72.7% on time155 flights | 79.8% on time168 flights | 81.2% on time156 flights | 78.8% on time158 flights | 67.5% on time154 flights | 79.4% on time163 flights | 75.5% on time165 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 51 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score | 42 flights, too few to score | 47 flights, too few to score |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 65.6% on time124 flights | 110 flights, too few to score | 117 flights, too few to score | 68.9% on time138 flights | 70.3% on time122 flights | 73.3% on time121 flights | 59.4% on time144 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 76 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 78 flights, too few to score | 61 flights, too few to score | 65 flights, too few to score |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 64.9% on time310 flights | 67.1% on time289 flights | 66.6% on time290 flights | 54.7% on time316 flights | 61.6% on time313 flights | 65.9% on time292 flights | 63.9% on time321 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 90.5% on time from 1,085 flights
- 6 AM: 84.6% on time from 378 flights
- 7 AM: 84.5% on time from 2,089 flights
- 8 AM: 81.4% on time from 1,160 flights
- 9 AM: 81.4% on time from 502 flights
- 10 AM: 81.5% on time from 842 flights
- 11 AM: 76.4% on time from 307 flights
- 12 PM: 74.3% on time from 821 flights
- 1 PM: 74.6% on time from 982 flights
- 2 PM: 76.5% on time from 1,119 flights
- 3 PM: 64.2% on time from 328 flights
- 4 PM: 67.9% on time from 876 flights
- 5 PM: 68.3% on time from 471 flights
- 6 PM: 63.4% on time from 2,131 flights
- 7 PM: too few flights to score
- 8 PM: 64.5% on time from 522 flights
- 9 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why ORD → CLT runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow 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 ORD → CLT. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on ORD → CLT, at 50.7%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 85.1% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 63.8%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
Bad weather raises cancellations by a similar amount at both ends of ORD to CLT: 5.5 times the normal rate at ORD and 4.6 times at CLT. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: ORD 6.5% against 1.2%, CLT 5.7% against 1.2%. Flights that did leave ORD in bad weather arrived on time 55.7% of the time, against 77.1% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | ORD | CLT |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 6.5% | 5.7% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 55.7% | 63.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 77.1% | 75.9% |
| Departures in bad weather | 104,455 | 55,311 |
Of the carriers on this route, United Airlines (3.5% cancelled against 7.4% for the other carriers at ORD) cancelled the fewest departures from ORD in bad weather and SkyWest Airlines (10.7% cancelled against 5.8% for the other carriers at ORD) the most.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at ORD
All departures from ORD| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 31,269 | 3.5%below the others | 7.4% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,047 | 6.0%about level | 7.5% |
| American Airlines | 17,789 | 5.4%below the others | 6.7% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,378 | 4.8%about level | 5.5% |
| Republic Airways | 9,471 | 8.1%above the others | 6.5% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 21,044 | 10.7%above the others | 5.8% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from ORD and CLT, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from ORD on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: ORD (airlines), CLT, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 9,564 | 76.4% | 1.48% | -6 min | 9.4% |
| United Airlines | 2,846 | 75.2% | 0.95% | -3 min | 8.1% |
| Republic Airways | 530 | 82.3% | 1.89% | -9 min | 6.0% |
| Frontier Airlines | 329 | 67.5% | 1.82% | -2 min | 16.4% |
| Spirit Airlines | 290 | 74.0% | 0.69% | -5 min | 9.0% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 221 | 61.8% | 4.07% | 5 min | 10.4% |
American Airlines flew 69.4% of the 13,780 flights listed. SkyWest Airlines cancelled 4.07% of its flights here against 0.69% for Spirit Airlines.
Republic Airways arrived on time 20.5 percentage points more often than SkyWest Airlines on this route.
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
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 6.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 73.6%
- Feb: 82.5%
- Mar: 75.3%
- Apr: 78.7%
- May: 74.4%
- Jun: 69.6%
- Jul: 65.2%
- Aug: 72.1%
- Sep: 80.1%
- Oct: 82.3%
- Nov: 84.6%
- Dec: 77.0%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 19.4 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 66.0% from 382 flights
- August 2023: 72.5% from 396 flights
- September 2023: 79.8% from 394 flights
- October 2023: 81.4% from 420 flights
- November 2023: 86.8% from 386 flights
- December 2023: 84.3% from 381 flights
- January 2024: 65.7% from 347 flights
- February 2024: 93.3% from 329 flights
- March 2024: 83.2% from 369 flights
- April 2024: 82.5% from 360 flights
- May 2024: 67.7% from 404 flights
- June 2024: 70.4% from 404 flights
- July 2024: 57.3% from 401 flights
- August 2024: 69.9% from 397 flights
- September 2024: 80.6% from 378 flights
- October 2024: 82.7% from 404 flights
- November 2024: 86.4% from 353 flights
- December 2024: 77.5% from 375 flights
- January 2025: 80.7% from 372 flights
- February 2025: 79.8% from 343 flights
- March 2025: 77.6% from 382 flights
- April 2025: 84.2% from 368 flights
- May 2025: 78.7% from 356 flights
- June 2025: 65.3% from 339 flights
- July 2025: 64.5% from 347 flights
- August 2025: 74.2% from 332 flights
- September 2025: 79.8% from 338 flights
- October 2025: 82.9% from 346 flights
- November 2025: 80.1% from 347 flights
- December 2025: 68.6% from 355 flights
- January 2026: 73.6% from 333 flights
- February 2026: 73.9% from 311 flights
- March 2026: 64.5% from 365 flights
- April 2026: 70.2% from 404 flights
- May 2026: 77.4% from 411 flights
- June 2026: 72.5% from 417 flights
- July 2026: 72.3% from 434 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 74.0% against 77.4% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.4 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 13,780 ORD → CLT 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