No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 78% on time.
Nonstops (seasonal or thin)
Nonstop details →Best connections, any airlines
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.
| Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails → | ECP 07:50 → BNA 09:15WN 1785 | 2h 00m Nashville | BNA 11:15 → ORD 13:15UA 4653 · flown by SkyWest | 5h 25m | 98% | 79% |
| Delta + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails → | ECP 06:00 → ATL 08:15DL 3114 | 3h 14m Atlanta | ATL 11:29 → ORD 12:52UA 1239 | 6h 52m | 96% | 77% |
| UnitedDetails → | ECP 06:30 → IAH 08:28UA 4255 · flown by CommuteAir | 1h 07m Houston | IAH 09:35 → ORD 12:29UA 2124 | 5h 59m | 90% | 77% |
| Delta + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails → | ECP 07:41 → ATL 09:55DL 1674 | 3h 23m Atlanta | ATL 13:18 → ORD 14:41UA 745 | 7h 00m | 98% | 76% |
| AmericanDetails → | ECP 07:05 → CLT 09:56AA 5175 · flown by PSA | 1h 05m Charlotte | CLT 11:01 → ORD 12:19AA 2908 | 5h 14m | 89% | 75% |
| Southwest + Americantwo ticketsDetails → | ECP 11:30 → MCI 13:45WN 1788 | 3h 34m Kansas City | MCI 17:19 → ORD 19:27AA 4745 · flown by Republic | 7h 57m | 100% | 74% |
| Delta + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails → | ECP 09:19 → ATL 11:31DL 3048 | 3h 59m Atlanta | ATL 15:30 → ORD 16:57UA 516 | 7h 38m | 99% | 71% |
| American + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails → | ECP 07:28 → DFW 09:50AA 1381 | 2h 10m Dallas-Fort Worth | DFW 12:00 → ORD 14:42UA 1401 | 7h 14m | 93% | 68% |
| Tight connection: often missed | ||||||
| AmericanDetails → | ECP 11:00 → CLT 13:46AA 5179 · flown by PSA | 49m Charlotte | CLT 14:35 → ORD 15:56AA 2080 | 4h 56m | 70% | 49% |
| AmericanDetails → | ECP 12:25 → DFW 14:38AA 5185 · flown by PSA | 52m Dallas-Fort Worth | DFW 15:30 → ORD 18:16AA 2740 | 5h 51m | 67% | 31% |
| AmericanDetails → | ECP 13:17 → PHL 16:48AA 5173 · flown by PSA | 52m Philadelphia | PHL 17:40 → ORD 19:26AA 1012 | 6h 09m | 53% | 27% |
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.
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
The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →
Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.
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