Chicago and Knoxville, Tenn., are both great cities, but flying between the two of them often appears to be an aggravating experience, if data compiled by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics holds any weight. In a special project requested by the Wall Street Journal, the BTS tracked more than 1,900 flight routes around the US for one year, checking stats for delays and cancellations, and the route between Chicago's O'Hare Airport and McGhee Tyson Airport just outside of Knoxville received the worst rating. More than 44% of the flights on that route—which the Journal points out is serviced by American and United airlines—were late in 2014, compared with a national not-on-time average of 23.8%; a 6% cancellation stat for that route blew past the national average of 1.4%. A weeklong tracking of Chicago-Knoxville flights this month didn't fare well, either.
And that route isn't the only thorn in O'Hare's side. In fact, 14 of the 15 most-delayed flight routes either originate or land there, and there's only one route in the five most-delayed routes that doesn't involve the Chicago airport. Here are the five top (meaning bottom) routes:
- O'Hare to Knoxville, with a 44.1% late rate
- O'Hare to Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (Wichita, Kan.), 43.9%
- Denver International Airport to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (Aspen, Colo.), 43.1%
- O'Hare to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (Birmingham, Ala.), 43.1%
- Des Moines International Airport (Iowa) to O'Hare, 43%
See where your local airport falls in the report at the
Wall Street Journal. (More
lists stories.)
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