Historical on-time performance
Chicago to Los Angeles
1,751 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on MDW–LAX arrive on time 69% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate69%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay45 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.0%of scheduled flights
based on 1,355 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time69%Medianon timep9045 minCancel1.0%Flights1,355
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline39%
- Weather2%
- Air traffic (NAS)16%
- Late aircraft42%
- Security1%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline7%
- Weather93%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 14 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly MDW → LAX
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 84% on time.
- Mornings84% on time · p90 20 min · 1,362 flights
- Middays76% on time · p90 30 min · 603 flights
- Afternoons66% on time · p90 45 min · 516 flights
- Evenings61% on time · p90 60 min · 658 flights
- Overnights60% on time · p90 65 min · 1,020 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 67% to 75% on time.
- Wednesdays75% on time · p90 35 min · 609 flights
- Saturdays75% on time · p90 40 min · 465 flights
- Tuesdays74% on time · p90 45 min · 612 flights
- Mondays71% on time · p90 40 min · 635 flights
- Thursdays69% on time · p90 50 min · 629 flights
- Fridays68% on time · p90 50 min · 641 flights
- Sundays67% on time · p90 55 min · 568 flights
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