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Airline industry

Here are the nation’s most delayed flight routes

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
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By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 17, 2015, 3:22 PM ET
Photograph by Scott Olson — Getty Images

If you have a flight from Chicago, chances are you’re not getting to your destination on time.

Data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics show that nine out of the 10 most delayed travel routes in 2014 involved the Windy City, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The absolute worst route to take to land on-time last year? A trip from O’Hare to Knoxville, Tenn., which had its passengers arrive late 44% of the time. The airlines responsible for those flights were American (AAL) and United (UAL). That compares with an average delay rate of 23.8% for all airline flights last year, the Journal said.

Per the article:

While the worst-performing flights have been tracked before, this is the first time BTS has processed all flights on a route over a full year, yielding a more useful guide to trouble spots for travelers. (The data was collected at the Journal’s request.)

Here’s the Journal’s list of the most delayed flight paths in the U.S. for 2014 and the percent chance that there’s a late arrival:

1. Chicago, Illinois to Knoxville, Tennessee: 44.1%

2. Chicago, Illinois to Wichita, Kansas: 43.9%

3. Denver, Colorado to Aspen, Colorado: 43.1%

4. Chicago, Illinois to Birmingham, Alabama: 43.1%

5. Des Moines, Iowa to Chicago, Illinois: 43.0%

6. Chicago, Illinois to Lansing, Michigan: 42.9%

7. Little Rock, Arkansas to Chicago, Illinois: 42.6%

8. Chicago, Illinois to Colorado Springs, Colorado: 42.6%

9. Chicago, Illinois to Lincoln, Nebraska: 42.5%

10. Chicago, Illinois to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: 42.3%

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
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Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

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