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 73% on time.

Nonstops


American	CHA	ORD	2h 11m	75%	2.5%	403	Flying now
United	CHA	ORD	2h 09m	73%	3.5%	1,403	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 (Chicago is 1 h behind Chattanooga). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Delta Details →	CHA 06:00 → DTW 07:55DL 4652 · flown by Endeavor	2h 20m Detroit	DTW 10:15 → ORD 10:50DL 3673 · flown by SkyWest	5h 50m	96%	86%
American Details →	CHA 05:00 → CLT 06:32AA 5866 · flown by Piedmont	1h 14m Charlotte	CLT 07:46 → ORD 09:02AA 2843	5h 02m	100%	86%
Delta Details →	CHA 05:35 → ATL 06:29DL 1044	56m Atlanta	ATL 07:25 → ORD 08:35DL 1178	4h 00m	98%	82%
American Details →	CHA 07:04 → DCA 08:59AA 4580 · flown by Republic	2h 36m Washington	DCA 11:35 → ORD 12:53AA 489	6h 49m	100%	81%
American Details →	CHA 08:18 → CLT 09:55AA 6105 · flown by Piedmont	1h 06m Charlotte	CLT 11:01 → ORD 12:19AA 2908	5h 01m	85%	76%
American Details →	CHA 09:19 → CLT 10:56AA 6050 · flown by Piedmont	3h 39m Charlotte	CLT 14:35 → ORD 15:56AA 2080	7h 37m	100%	71%
Delta Details →	CHA 10:01 → ATL 11:02DL 5309 · flown by Endeavor	2h 00m Atlanta	ATL 13:02 → ORD 14:16DL 1477	5h 15m	96%	71%
Delta Details →	CHA 06:40 → ATL 07:36DL 5039 · flown by Endeavor	1h 26m Atlanta	ATL 09:02 → ORD 10:13DL 1147	4h 33m	88%	66%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	CHA 07:00 → IAH 08:23UA 5086 · flown by SkyWest	1h 12m Houston	IAH 09:35 → ORD 12:29UA 2124	6h 29m	69%	59%
American Details →	CHA 20:10 → CLT 21:44AA 6049 · flown by Piedmont	55m Charlotte	CLT 22:39 → ORD 00:01 +1AA 3014	4h 51m	52%	30%
American Details →	CHA 16:22 → DFW 17:44AA 2121	54m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:38 → ORD 21:22AA 1424	6h 00m	35%	12%

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

CLT · 1h 14m · leaves 05:00 0%

ATL · 56m · leaves 05:35 2%

DFW · 56m · leaves 06:01 30%

Afternoon and evening

DTW · 1h 00m · leaves 15:00 21%

CLT · 55m · leaves 20:10 48%

DFW · 54m · leaves 16:22 65%

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.


Delta DL 4652 CHA 06:00 → DTW American AA 4103 DTW 10:33 → ORD Connection details →	2h 38m	6h 08m	95%	89%
American AA 4580 CHA 07:04 → DCA United UA 374 DCA 11:57 → ORD Connection details →	2h 58m	7h 11m	100%	84%
American AA 426 CHA 06:04 → DFW United UA 1114 DFW 09:45 → ORD Connection details →	2h 21m	7h 22m	87%	79%

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