SEA to ORD flight delays
SEA ORD Seattle Tacoma to Chicago O'Hare · 1,721 miles
15,693 flights were scheduled from SEA to ORD over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 15,460 that made the trip, 77.6% 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
- 15,693
- Arrived on time
- 77.6%
- Cancelled
- 0.9%
- Scheduled distance
- 1,721 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 SEA–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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 74.7% | 51 min | 0.7% | 5,470 |
| United Airlines | 82.3% | 74 min | 1% | 4,608 |
| American Airlines | 74.3% | 89 min | 1.5% | 2,878 |
| Delta Air Lines | 79% | 65 min | 0.7% | 2,737 |
Month by month
August was the month to avoid on SEA–ORD: 70% of flights arrived on time, against 85.7% in February. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75.1% | 856 |
| February | 85.7% | 807 |
| March | 83.5% | 1,000 |
| April | 80.9% | 1,289 |
| May | 76.3% | 1,564 |
| June | 73.3% | 1,675 |
| July | 70.4% | 1,748 |
| August | 70% | 1,713 |
| September | 79.1% | 1,486 |
| October | 84.8% | 1,363 |
| November | 82.8% | 1,110 |
| December | 79.5% | 1,082 |
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.
SEA to ORD in one number
SEA → ORD
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 66 min.
Questions about SEA to ORD
- Which airline is most reliable from SEA to ORD?
- United Airlines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 82.3% of the time, with 4,608 scheduled. American Airlines came in at 74.3% over 2,878 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
- What is the worst month to fly SEA to ORD?
- August, at 70% of arrivals on time, with 1,713 flights scheduled. February was the best of the year at 85.7%.
- How late are SEA–ORD flights when they are late?
- 66 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 SEA to ORD flight cancelled?
- 0.9% 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.