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


United	ORD	TPA	2h 53m	79%	0.6%	1,433	Flying now
American	ORD	TPA	2h 48m	70%	2.0%	1,148	Flying now
Southwest	ORD	TPA	2h 50m	72%	0.9%	214	Not flying now
Spirit	ORD	TPA	2h 45m	70%	3.2%	252	Not flying now
Frontier	ORD	TPA	2h 59m	70%	4.5%	156	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	ORD 06:00 → DEN 07:42UA 2806	1h 58m Denver	DEN 09:40 → TPA 15:14UA 1010	8h 14m	100%	87%
United Details →	ORD 06:30 → IAD 09:24UA 1689	3h 25m Dulles	IAD 12:49 → TPA 15:15UA 2277	7h 45m	100%	84%
United Details →	ORD 10:54 → DEN 12:45UA 581	1h 10m Denver	DEN 13:55 → TPA 19:33UA 2375	7h 39m	97%	83%
United Details →	ORD 08:51 → IAH 11:51UA 535	2h 43m Houston	IAH 14:34 → TPA 17:55UA 2812	8h 04m	99%	80%
Delta Details →	ORD 05:30 → ATL 08:33DL 1264	2h 41m Atlanta	ATL 11:14 → TPA 12:45DL 1099	6h 15m	98%	80%
Delta Details →	ORD 06:00 → LGA 09:09DL 2767	3h 26m New York	LGA 12:35 → TPA 15:34DL 2106	8h 34m	98%	80%
Delta Details →	ORD 08:36 → MSP 10:15DL 1554	3h 04m Minneapolis	MSP 13:19 → TPA 17:32DL 2264	7h 56m	96%	78%
Delta Details →	ORD 06:30 → MSP 08:06DL 1717	1h 58m Minneapolis	MSP 10:04 → TPA 14:12DL 2696	6h 42m	95%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	ORD 10:51 → EWR 14:17UA 1856	50m Newark	EWR 15:07 → TPA 18:07UA 2777	6h 16m	70%	51%
American Details →	ORD 13:32 → PHL 16:49AA 1859	1h 09m Philadelphia	PHL 17:58 → TPA 20:40AA 2322	6h 08m	72%	42%
American Details →	ORD 18:00 → MIA 22:17AA 2690	56m Miami	MIA 23:13 → TPA 00:19 +1AA 1714	5h 19m	42%	28%

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

IAD · 57m · leaves 08:40 8%

CLT · 1h 05m · leaves 05:07 9%

PHL · 48m · leaves 05:00 13%

Afternoon and evening

CLT · 49m · leaves 12:00 39%

DFW · 1h 02m · leaves 16:51 51%

MIA · 56m · leaves 18:00 58%

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 4104 ORD 07:05 → STL Southwest WN 3986 STL 10:05 → TPA Connection details →	1h 34m	5h 20m	94%	86%
United UA 2617 ORD 06:00 → LGA Delta DL 2106 LGA 12:35 → TPA Connection details →	3h 24m	8h 34m	100%	83%
United UA 5926 ORD 06:55 → RDU Southwest WN 4442 RDU 13:20 → TPA Connection details →	3h 12m	7h 20m	100%	80%

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