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 4 in 5 on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


American	ILM	ORD	2h 39m	82%	1.5%	452	Flying now
United	ILM	ORD	2h 48m	76%	5.6%	90	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 Wilmington). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


American Details →	ILM 07:02 → CLT 08:10AA 2760	2h 51m Charlotte	CLT 11:01 → ORD 12:19AA 2908	6h 17m	99%	87%
American Details →	ILM 05:06 → CLT 06:10AA 2493	1h 36m Charlotte	CLT 07:46 → ORD 09:02AA 2843	4h 56m	98%	83%
Delta Details →	ILM 05:48 → ATL 07:19DL 3187	1h 43m Atlanta	ATL 09:02 → ORD 10:13DL 1147	5h 25m	99%	75%
Delta Details →	ILM 10:30 → ATL 12:06DL 376	56m Atlanta	ATL 13:02 → ORD 14:16DL 1477	4h 46m	98%	74%
United Details →	ILM 07:30 → EWR 09:30UA 3706 · flown by Republic	1h 55m Newark	EWR 11:25 → ORD 13:08UA 1875	6h 38m	97%	74%
American Details →	ILM 08:01 → PHL 09:45AA 6081 · flown by Piedmont	2h 57m Philadelphia	PHL 12:42 → ORD 14:15AA 2925	7h 14m	97%	73%
American Details →	ILM 06:11 → LGA 07:56AA 4682 · flown by Republic	1h 48m New York	LGA 09:44 → ORD 11:30AA 3100	6h 19m	97%	71%
American Details →	ILM 11:04 → CLT 12:24AA 5820 · flown by Piedmont	2h 11m Charlotte	CLT 14:35 → ORD 15:56AA 2080	5h 52m	98%	70%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	ILM 16:35 → DFW 18:52AA 2934	53m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 19:45 → ORD 22:32AA 3531 · flown by Envoy	6h 57m	57%	33%
American Details →	ILM 16:15 → CLT 17:38AA 5823 · flown by Piedmont	48m Charlotte	CLT 18:26 → ORD 19:51AA 2488	4h 36m	53%	25%
American Details →	ILM 14:32 → BOS 16:44AA 4738 · flown by Republic	54m Boston	BOS 17:38 → ORD 19:59AA 1592	6h 27m	60%	20%

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

EWR · 54m · leaves 07:30 9%

LGA · 52m · leaves 06:11 18%

PHL · 50m · leaves 08:01 20%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 53m · leaves 16:35 43%

CLT · 48m · leaves 16:15 47%

DCA · 53m · leaves 19:44 59%

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.


American AA 2760 ILM 07:02 → CLT United UA 4680 CLT 10:35 → ORD Connection details →	2h 25m	5h 57m	97%	81%
American AA 2493 ILM 05:06 → CLT United UA 2771 CLT 08:05 → ORD Connection details →	1h 55m	5h 16m	94%	76%
Delta DL 376 ILM 10:30 → ATL United UA 516 ATL 15:30 → ORD Connection details →	3h 24m	7h 27m	100%	73%

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