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

Connect in the morning. The same one-hour layover misses 1 time in 10 at 9 am and 36% of the time at 10 pm.

Nonstops


American	ORD	CAE	2h 10m	79%	4.9%	144	Flying now
United	ORD	CAE	2h 11m	70%	3.1%	1,068	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Columbia on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Columbia is 1 h ahead of Chicago). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


American Details →	ORD 05:07 → CLT 08:10AA 2842	3h 01m Charlotte	CLT 11:11 → CAE 12:20AA 5994 · flown by Piedmont	6h 13m	98%	89%
Delta Details →	ORD 05:30 → ATL 08:33DL 1264	1h 32m Atlanta	ATL 10:05 → CAE 11:14DL 5091 · flown by Endeavor	4h 46m	96%	87%
Delta Details →	ORD 06:35 → ATL 09:41DL 1247	2h 19m Atlanta	ATL 12:00 → CAE 13:02DL 2944	5h 27m	97%	85%
United Details →	ORD 06:30 → IAD 09:24UA 1689	3h 11m Dulles	IAD 12:35 → CAE 14:16UA 4288 · flown by CommuteAir	6h 46m	100%	82%
American Details →	ORD 05:00 → PHL 08:05AA 2970	1h 55m Philadelphia	PHL 10:00 → CAE 12:06AA 6094 · flown by Piedmont	6h 06m	93%	82%
United Details →	ORD 11:07 → IAD 14:12UA 1869	3h 09m Dulles	IAD 17:21 → CAE 19:09UA 4364 · flown by CommuteAir	7h 02m	99%	80%
American Details →	ORD 06:30 → CLT 09:37AA 1784	3h 25m Charlotte	CLT 13:02 → CAE 14:07AA 6047 · flown by Piedmont	6h 37m	98%	77%
American Details →	ORD 06:00 → LGA 09:16AA 327	3h 13m New York	LGA 12:29 → CAE 14:42AA 4697 · flown by Republic	7h 42m	99%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	ORD 13:30 → IAD 16:30UA 2794	51m Dulles	IAD 17:21 → CAE 19:09UA 4364 · flown by CommuteAir	4h 39m	65%	53%
Delta Details →	ORD 18:22 → ATL 21:38DL 2740	1h 03m Atlanta	ATL 22:41 → CAE 23:46DL 3029	4h 24m	71%	48%
American Details →	ORD 18:47 → CLT 21:59AA 689	56m Charlotte	CLT 22:55 → CAE 23:58AA 5791 · flown by Piedmont	4h 11m	64%	45%

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

DFW · 1h 09m · leaves 06:04 11%

LGA · 1h 10m · leaves 08:00 15%

ATL · 52m · leaves 08:05 22%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 1h 03m · leaves 18:22 29%

CLT · 56m · leaves 18:47 36%

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 3193 ATL 14:05 → CAE Connection details →	3h 38m	6h 57m	100%	83%
United UA 5216 ORD 06:30 → CLT American AA 6047 CLT 13:02 → CAE Connection details →	3h 18m	6h 37m	100%	79%
United UA 2617 ORD 06:00 → LGA American AA 4697 LGA 12:29 → CAE Connection details →	3h 18m	7h 42m	98%	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