Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 78% on time.

Nonstops


American	BHM	ORD	2h 21m	78%	1.8%	920	Flying now
United	BHM	ORD	2h 23m	78%	2.6%	1,018	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Chicago on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


American Details →	BHM 05:06 → CLT 07:35AA 3269	3h 26m Charlotte	CLT 11:01 → ORD 12:19AA 2908	7h 13m	98%	83%
Delta Details →	BHM 06:25 → DTW 09:27DL 3006	48m Detroit	DTW 10:15 → ORD 10:50DL 3673 · flown by SkyWest	4h 25m	87%	77%
Delta Details →	BHM 05:15 → ATL 07:21DL 1979	1h 41m Atlanta	ATL 09:02 → ORD 10:13DL 1147	4h 58m	99%	76%
United Details →	BHM 06:30 → IAH 08:30UA 4008 · flown by Mesa	1h 05m Houston	IAH 09:35 → ORD 12:29UA 2124	5h 59m	87%	73%
American Details →	BHM 06:00 → DCA 09:18AA 5561 · flown by PSA	2h 17m Washington	DCA 11:35 → ORD 12:53AA 489	6h 53m	99%	73%
American Details →	BHM 06:00 → PHL 09:20AA 5218 · flown by PSA	1h 15m Philadelphia	PHL 10:35 → ORD 12:09AA 1041	6h 09m	91%	73%
American Details →	BHM 05:00 → DFW 07:10AA 5279 · flown by PSA	1h 20m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:30 → ORD 11:10AA 1059	6h 10m	89%	72%
Delta Details →	BHM 09:28 → ATL 11:29DL 3100	1h 33m Atlanta	ATL 13:02 → ORD 14:16DL 1477	4h 48m	98%	72%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	BHM 18:42 → CLT 21:27AA 5077 · flown by PSA	1h 12m Charlotte	CLT 22:39 → ORD 00:01 +1AA 3014	5h 19m	56%	33%
American Details →	BHM 19:05 → DFW 21:20AA 3417 · flown by Envoy	52m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:12 → ORD 00:50 +1AA 1193	5h 45m	58%	28%
American Details →	BHM 14:45 → CLT 17:29AA 5075 · flown by PSA	57m Charlotte	CLT 18:26 → ORD 19:51AA 2488	5h 06m	57%	26%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

PHL · 1h 15m · leaves 06:00 9%

DFW · 1h 17m · leaves 05:00 12%

DCA · 55m · leaves 06:00 13%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 14m · leaves 15:12 44%

CLT · 1h 12m · leaves 18:42 44%

DCA · 1h 11m · leaves 17:46 45%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


Southwest WN 440 BHM 06:50 → MCO American AA 2067 MCO 11:38 → ORD Connection details →	2h 13m	6h 55m	96%	88%
Southwest WN 430 BHM 05:30 → BNA American AA 3973 BNA 09:04 → ORD Connection details →	2h 34m	5h 30m	95%	84%
American AA 5279 BHM 05:00 → DFW United UA 1114 DFW 09:45 → ORD Connection details →	2h 35m	7h 26m	89%	82%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON