Route profile
ORD→SEA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Chicago to Seattle, 1,721 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 37% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 16,311 flights. How this is calculated
ORD → SEA arrives on time 74.0% of the time; the return trip, SEA → ORD, arrives on time 77.3% of the time, a 3.4-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
ORD → SEA spends 36.7 minutes on the ground on a 1,721-mile trip: 24.6 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at ORD and 12.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at SEA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
Why ORD → SEA flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
ORD → SEA cancelled 163 of 16,311 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 100. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 49.7% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 201 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 163 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.
81 cancellations, 49.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
64 cancellations, 39.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
18 cancellations, 11.0% 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.
163 coded cancellations were recorded on ORD → SEA; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
49 min late
against a median of 4 min early
Percentiles over 16,311 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at SEA after arriving from ORD.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 43% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 25% | High risk |
| 60 min | 16% | High risk |
| 90 min | 7.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.7% | Low 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 1.00% of the time and diverts 0.15% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 16,123 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 49 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 16,311 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
ORD → SEA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 81.9% of the time, against 53.4% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 28.5 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 9.9 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 1.9 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 50–59
- 60–69
- 70–79
- 80–89
- 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 after 9 PM (581 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | 84.8% on time197 flights | 84.3% on time188 flights | 87.6% on time186 flights | 85.4% on time206 flights | 81.2% on time201 flights | 89.3% on time206 flights | 87.5% on time211 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 84.3% on time252 flights | 83.2% on time229 flights | 85.5% on time228 flights | 83.6% on time241 flights | 82.6% on time251 flights | 84.4% on time212 flights | 82.7% on time231 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 77.9% on time200 flights | 77.4% on time188 flights | 75.3% on time187 flights | 78.8% on time200 flights | 71.4% on time202 flights | 73.2% on time180 flights | 75.6% on time201 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 80.7% on time161 flights | 84.9% on time173 flights | 83.6% on time171 flights | 81.4% on time156 flights | 77.0% on time154 flights | 84.8% on time133 flights | 81.4% on time146 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 81.8% on time132 flights | 118 flights, too few to score | 81.7% on time127 flights | 72.5% on time133 flights | 71.9% on time136 flights | 104 flights, too few to score | 80.0% on time140 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 50 flights, too few to score | 44 flights, too few to score | 42 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score | 49 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 50 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 29 flights, too few to score | 29 flights, too few to score | 28 flights, too few to score | 29 flights, too few to score | 25 flights, too few to score | 31 flights, too few to score | 28 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 85.4% on time223 flights | 87.6% on time218 flights | 87.4% on time195 flights | 84.2% on time223 flights | 83.9% on time212 flights | 84.9% on time188 flights | 84.2% on time184 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 72.2% on time159 flights | 82.3% on time151 flights | 79.5% on time157 flights | 79.1% on time154 flights | 75.6% on time157 flights | 83.6% on time124 flights | 69.0% on time146 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 116 flights, too few to score | 118 flights, too few to score | 112 flights, too few to score | 117 flights, too few to score | 113 flights, too few to score | 105 flights, too few to score | 106 flights, too few to score |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 79.0% on time145 flights | 74.8% on time139 flights | 76.1% on time138 flights | 74.7% on time146 flights | 79.5% on time152 flights | 83.6% on time140 flights | 82.6% on time145 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 61.5% on time197 flights | 62.2% on time180 flights | 60.0% on time188 flights | 53.8% on time200 flights | 58.2% on time197 flights | 65.1% on time153 flights | 57.9% on time193 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 63.4% on time137 flights | 74.0% on time124 flights | 57.5% on time128 flights | 64.0% on time129 flights | 67.7% on time134 flights | 74 flights, too few to score | 65.6% on time133 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 55.9% on time212 flights | 64.3% on time183 flights | 62.3% on time192 flights | 61.7% on time215 flights | 56.8% on time224 flights | 62.3% on time177 flights | 61.5% on time213 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 60.4% on time142 flights | 65.9% on time124 flights | 67.8% on time122 flights | 51.8% on time144 flights | 59.4% on time141 flights | 66.2% on time132 flights | 58.2% on time152 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 85.8% on time from 1,395 flights
- 7 AM: 83.7% on time from 1,644 flights
- 8 AM: 75.7% on time from 1,358 flights
- 9 AM: 82.0% on time from 1,094 flights
- 10 AM: 77.7% on time from 890 flights
- 11 AM: 70.5% on time from 327 flights
- 12 PM: 76.6% on time from 199 flights
- 1 PM: 85.4% on time from 1,443 flights
- 2 PM: 77.1% on time from 1,048 flights
- 3 PM: 71.2% on time from 787 flights
- 4 PM: 78.6% on time from 1,005 flights
- 5 PM: 59.6% on time from 1,308 flights
- 6 PM: 66.0% on time from 859 flights
- 7 PM: 60.5% on time from 1,416 flights
- 8 PM: 61.1% on time from 957 flights
- 9 PM: 54.6% on time from 477 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why ORD → SEA 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 → SEA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on ORD → SEA, at 41.0%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 81.9% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 53.4%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is the one the flight leaves from, where a cancellation keeps it from departing at all. Bad weather cancels 5.5 times the normal rate at ORD against 1.9 times at SEA. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: ORD 6.5% against 1.2%, SEA 1.5% against 0.8%. 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 | SEA |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 6.5% | 1.5% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 55.7% | 75.4% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 77.1% | 79.3% |
| Departures in bad weather | 104,455 | 43,416 |
United Airlines (3.5% cancelled against 7.4% for the other carriers at ORD), Delta Air Lines (3.5% cancelled against 6.2% for the other carriers at ORD), Alaska Airlines (4.1% cancelled against 6.5% for the other carriers at ORD) and American Airlines (5.4% cancelled against 6.7% for the other carriers at ORD) cancelled fewer departures from ORD in bad weather than the other carriers there did in the same months. None of the route’s other carriers was clearly worse.
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% |
| Delta Air Lines | 3,353 | 3.5%below the others | 6.2% |
| Alaska Airlines | 971 | 4.1%below the others | 6.5% |
| American Airlines | 17,789 | 5.4%below the others | 6.7% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from ORD and SEA, 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), SEA, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 5,684 | 70.6% | 1.09% | -2 min | 8.8% |
| United Airlines | 4,766 | 78.9% | 0.69% | -7 min | 6.4% |
| American Airlines | 3,031 | 69.8% | 1.42% | -2 min | 10.4% |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,830 | 76.9% | 0.88% | -5 min | 6.6% |
Alaska Airlines flew 34.8% of the 16,311 flights listed.
United Airlines arrived on time 9.1 percentage points more often than American Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
DL2041 (7:15 AM) arrived on time 80.7% of the time, 9.0 points more often than AS329 (10:00 AM) at 71.7%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 5.6 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 71.7%
- Feb: 79.1%
- Mar: 68.7%
- Apr: 80.7%
- May: 75.3%
- Jun: 65.6%
- Jul: 67.0%
- Aug: 71.5%
- Sep: 83.6%
- Oct: 82.4%
- Nov: 77.2%
- Dec: 71.7%
June is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 18.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 67.8% from 551 flights
- August 2023: 77.4% from 563 flights
- September 2023: 82.7% from 496 flights
- October 2023: 86.3% from 432 flights
- November 2023: 84.2% from 362 flights
- December 2023: 89.6% from 335 flights
- January 2024: 74.6% from 271 flights
- February 2024: 92.7% from 247 flights
- March 2024: 84.5% from 311 flights
- April 2024: 85.2% from 399 flights
- May 2024: 68.8% from 465 flights
- June 2024: 59.6% from 523 flights
- July 2024: 69.1% from 575 flights
- August 2024: 68.6% from 552 flights
- September 2024: 83.9% from 485 flights
- October 2024: 87.3% from 435 flights
- November 2024: 85.7% from 356 flights
- December 2024: 79.9% from 366 flights
- January 2025: 75.5% from 284 flights
- February 2025: 72.4% from 259 flights
- March 2025: 72.6% from 331 flights
- April 2025: 81.8% from 425 flights
- May 2025: 83.2% from 537 flights
- June 2025: 69.0% from 571 flights
- July 2025: 66.6% from 622 flights
- August 2025: 68.5% from 602 flights
- September 2025: 84.2% from 509 flights
- October 2025: 74.5% from 496 flights
- November 2025: 62.2% from 391 flights
- December 2025: 47.9% from 384 flights
- January 2026: 65.5% from 301 flights
- February 2026: 73.6% from 301 flights
- March 2026: 51.0% from 357 flights
- April 2026: 75.8% from 465 flights
- May 2026: 73.1% from 562 flights
- June 2026: 67.8% from 582 flights
- July 2026: 64.7% from 608 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 68.2% against 76.7% in the 12 months before — declining by 8.5 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 16,311 ORD → SEA 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