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WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Des Moines → Chicago

DSMMDW · 306 miles · Des Moines International Airport to Chicago Midway International Airport

75
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
82%
Arrive within 15 minutes
3 min
Average arrival delay
2.4%
Cancelled
168
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Southwest Airlines is the only airline in this data on this route, arriving on time 82% of the time across 168 flights. No comparison to make.

What the data says

Morning-you made the right choice.

DSM–MDW flights departing between 3–6 AM arrived on time 89% of the time, versus 74% between 3–6 PM.

Mondays have been rough.

DSM–MDW flights arrived on time 96% of the time on Wednesdays and just 73% on Mondays. That gap is worth planning around.

Flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon73%(22 flights)
  • Tue83%(24 flights)
  • Wed96%(24 flights)
  • Thu76%(25 flights)
  • Fri83%(24 flights)
  • Sat78%(18 flights)
  • Sun80%(25 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 3–6 AM89%(83 flights)
  • 6–9 AM(1 flights)
  • 3–6 PM74%(78 flights)
On-time trend by month
77%
May

Mar 78% → May 77% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
March 202678%50
April 202689%55
May 202677%57

Based on 168 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.