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 77% on time.

Nonstops


United	TUS	ORD	3h 41m	77%	1.7%	539	Flying now
American	TUS	ORD	3h 36m	77%	1.2%	501	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 2 h ahead of Tucson). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


American Details →	TUS 05:45 → PHX 06:36AA 2622	1h 54m Phoenix	PHX 08:30 → ORD 14:21AA 319	6h 36m	100%	84%
United Details →	TUS 05:45 → DEN 08:38UA 2418	2h 37m Denver	DEN 11:15 → ORD 14:55UA 2865	7h 10m	100%	82%
American Details →	TUS 05:50 → PHX 06:44AA 842	3h 31m Phoenix	PHX 10:15 → ORD 16:12AA 2252	8h 22m	100%	77%
Delta Details →	TUS 11:53 → SEA 15:23DL 3679 · flown by SkyWest	2h 17m Seattle	SEA 17:40 → ORD 23:39DL 2108	9h 46m	98%	74%
Delta Details →	TUS 11:16 → SLC 14:17DL 3718 · flown by SkyWest	3h 04m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:21 → ORD 21:29DL 2413	8h 17m	99%	73%
American Details →	TUS 17:40 → LAX 19:22AA 6372 · flown by SkyWest	3h 23m Los Angeles	LAX 22:45 → ORD 05:00 +1AA 1009	9h 29m	96%	71%
American Details →	TUS 06:02 → LAX 07:46AA 6393 · flown by SkyWest	1h 45m Los Angeles	LAX 09:31 → ORD 15:59AA 2608	7h 58m	96%	71%
Alaska Details →	TUS 07:10 → SEA 10:37AS 3361 · flown by SkyWest	2h 33m Seattle	SEA 13:10 → ORD 19:21AS 410	10h 11m	99%	70%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	TUS 13:41 → PHX 14:43AA 4935 · flown by SkyWest	47m Phoenix	PHX 15:30 → ORD 21:30AA 2786	5h 51m	70%	40%
American Details →	TUS 17:20 → PHX 18:23AA 6368 · flown by SkyWest	46m Phoenix	PHX 19:09 → ORD 00:51 +1AA 3137	5h 31m	43%	24%
American Details →	TUS 13:18 → DFW 17:50AA 2926	48m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:38 → ORD 21:22AA 1424	6h 04m	62%	23%

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 18m · leaves 05:01 6%

SEA · 52m · leaves 07:10 18%

PHX · 1h 01m · leaves 10:13 20%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 48m · leaves 13:18 38%

PHX · 46m · leaves 17:20 57%

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.


Delta DL 3778 TUS 16:47 → LAX United UA 353 LAX 22:35 → ORD Connection details →	3h 59m	10h 04m	100%	90%
Southwest WN 4060 TUS 19:00 → LAX United UA 1962 LAX 23:30 → ORD Connection details →	2h 55m	8h 46m	100%	88%
Delta DL 3744 TUS 12:27 → LAX United UA 212 LAX 17:00 → ORD Connection details →	2h 45m	8h 49m	100%	87%

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