ORD to IAH flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport · 925 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at ORD or IAH right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Chicago (ORD) to Houston (IAH) arrived on time 76% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1.5% were cancelled, and 9% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (80% on time); American Airlines was the least (59%).
- Departures scheduled around 5am did best (91% on time); around 8pm did worst (59%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (80% on time) and Friday the least (71%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (42%).
Which airline is most on time from ORD to IAH?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 80% | 0.7% | 14 min | 6.7% | 4,040 |
| Frontier Airlines | 78% | 3.8% | 24 min | 13.1% | 263 |
| Republic AirwaysRegional airline operating flights for American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express. | 77% | 2.7% | 17 min | 9.8% | 367 |
| Envoy AirRegional airline operating American Eagle flights. | 75% | 1.4% | 17 min | 9.2% | 353 |
| Spirit Airlines | 66% | 4.4% | 33 min | 17.2% | 274 |
| American Airlines | 59% | 3.1% | 34 min | 18.6% | 811 |
| PSA AirlinesRegional airline operating American Eagle flights. | 50% | 0.0% | 37 min | 25.0% | 4 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 0% | 0.0% | 32 min | 0.0% | 2 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am91%255 flights
- 6am91%272 flights
- 7am85%572 flights
- 8am85%422 flights
- 9am77%365 flights
- 10am83%400 flights
- 12pm86%375 flights
- 1pm75%261 flights
- 2pm72%525 flights
- 3pm63%363 flights
- 4pm73%380 flights
- 5pm75%455 flights
- 6pm66%278 flights
- 7pm68%208 flights
- 8pm59%465 flights
- 9pm69%449 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday76%2.5% cancelled
- Tuesday80%1.3% cancelled
- Wednesday80%0.6% cancelled
- Thursday80%1.3% cancelled
- Friday71%1.2% cancelled
- Saturday75%2.1% cancelled
- Sunday72%1.4% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft42%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)26%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion25%
- Extreme weather7%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather80%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)10%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion10%
- Security0%
ORD to IAH: common questions
- How often are ORD to IAH flights on time?
- 76% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Chicago to Houston cancelled?
- 1.5% of scheduled flights were cancelled (91 of 6,114).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 18 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 74 min behind schedule on average, and 9.4% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at ORD?
- Flights on this route spent 27 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: IAH to ORD — 75% on time
More flights from Chicago
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: ORD → IAH, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.