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 3 in 4 on time.

Nonstops


American	ORD	BHM	2h 03m	78%	2.0%	920	Flying now
United	ORD	BHM	2h 04m	70%	3.3%	1,017	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	ORD 08:51 → IAH 11:51UA 535	2h 34m Houston	IAH 14:25 → BHM 16:20UA 6120 · flown by Mesa	7h 29m	99%	89%
Delta Details →	ORD 05:30 → ATL 08:33DL 1264	2h 42m Atlanta	ATL 11:15 → BHM 11:11DL 1017	5h 41m	98%	86%
Delta Details →	ORD 06:35 → ATL 09:41DL 1247	3h 49m Atlanta	ATL 13:30 → BHM 13:24DL 3012	6h 49m	99%	86%
United Details →	ORD 06:29 → IAH 09:18UA 1799	2h 52m Houston	IAH 12:10 → BHM 14:09UA 4263 · flown by CommuteAir	7h 40m	100%	85%
American Details →	ORD 05:07 → CLT 08:10AA 2842	3h 20m Charlotte	CLT 11:30 → BHM 12:09AA 4932 · flown by SkyWest	7h 02m	98%	84%
American Details →	ORD 05:00 → DFW 07:30AA 760	2h 20m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 09:50 → BHM 11:46AA 3469 · flown by Envoy	6h 46m	98%	83%
Delta Details →	ORD 09:45 → ATL 12:51DL 1178	3h 34m Atlanta	ATL 16:25 → BHM 16:19DL 2484	6h 36m	99%	78%
Delta Details →	ORD 15:22 → ATL 18:36DL 1477	3h 08m Atlanta	ATL 21:44 → BHM 21:40DL 2257	6h 18m	97%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	ORD 11:23 → ATL 14:25DL 1147	49m Atlanta	ATL 15:14 → BHM 15:10DL 3163	3h 47m	72%	52%
American Details →	ORD 11:40 → PHL 14:54AA 1743	47m Philadelphia	PHL 15:41 → BHM 17:17AA 5064 · flown by PSA	5h 37m	60%	37%
American Details →	ORD 18:20 → DFW 21:01AA 1559	58m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 21:59 → BHM 23:46AA 3067	5h 26m	39%	13%

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

DEN · 1h 20m · leaves 07:05 5%

ATL · 1h 17m · leaves 05:30 7%

DFW · 1h 17m · leaves 06:04 9%

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 1h 19m · leaves 14:33 18%

ATL · 1h 05m · leaves 13:46 22%

DFW · 58m · leaves 18:20 61%

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.


United UA 425 ORD 07:12 → ATL Delta DL 3012 ATL 13:30 → BHM Connection details →	3h 03m	6h 12m	100%	88%
American AA 3498 ORD 10:00 → DTW Delta DL 4647 DTW 15:51 → BHM Connection details →	3h 19m	6h 55m	99%	80%
United UA 2684 ORD 10:29 → ATL Delta DL 2484 ATL 16:25 → BHM Connection details →	2h 41m	5h 52m	94%	76%

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