DFW to ORD flight delays

DFW ORD Dallas Fort Worth to Chicago O'Hare · 802 miles

19,786 flights were scheduled from DFW to ORD over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 19,316 that made the trip, 73.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

The route in brief

Flights in the window
19,786
Arrived on time
73.1%
Cancelled
2%
Scheduled distance
802 miles

Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.

Airline by airline

Airlines with at least 100 flights on DFW–ORD, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.

Airline Arrived on time Typical delay Cancelled Flights
American Airlines 71.6% 75 min 2.2% 12,145
United Airlines 77.3% 85 min 1.4% 5,697
Frontier Airlines 63.8% 84 min 3% 910
Spirit Airlines 78% 65 min 1.5% 796
Envoy Air 62.9% 67 min 3.9% 207

Month by month

July was the month to avoid on DFW–ORD: 63% of flights arrived on time, against 84% in February. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.

Share of flights that arrived on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 73.1%.
Arrival on-time share, DFW to ORD, by calendar month
Month Share flights that arrived on time Flights
January 76% 1,471
February 84% 1,403
March 72.3% 1,594
April 69.9% 1,604
May 64.4% 1,699
June 63.1% 1,850
July 63% 1,705
August 68.8% 1,678
September 79.9% 1,678
October 81.8% 1,828
November 78.5% 1,653
December 76.9% 1,623

Both ends of the route

A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.

DFW to ORD in one number

DFW → ORD

When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 78 min.

July 2023–June 2026 · 19,786 flights

73.1% of flights arrived on time

Questions about DFW to ORD

Which airline is most reliable from DFW to ORD?
Spirit Airlines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 78% of the time, with 796 scheduled. Envoy Air came in at 62.9% over 207 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
What is the worst month to fly DFW to ORD?
July, at 63% of arrivals on time, with 1,705 flights scheduled. February was the best of the year at 84%.
How late are DFW–ORD flights when they are late?
78 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
How often is the DFW to ORD flight cancelled?
2% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
Are these departure or arrival numbers?
Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at ORD less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.