Route Reliability
Chicago → Des Moines
MDW–DSM · 306 miles · Chicago Midway International Airport to Des Moines International Airport
74
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
- 76%
- Arrive within 15 minutes
- 7 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 76% of the time across 168 flights. No comparison to make.
What the data says
Morning-you made the right choice.
MDW–DSM flights departing between 9 AM–12 PM arrived on time 88% of the time, versus 55% between 9 PM–12 AM.
Friday is doing you no favors.
MDW–DSM flights arrived on time 83% of the time on Wednesdays and just 62% on Fridays. That gap is worth planning around.
Flights on this route
The breakdown
- Mon71%(24 flights)
- Tue79%(24 flights)
- Wed83%(24 flights)
- Thu75%(24 flights)
- Fri62%(26 flights)
- Sat83%(18 flights)
- Sun79%(24 flights)
- 9 AM–12 PM88%(86 flights)
- 6–9 PM76%(25 flights)
- 9 PM–12 AM55%(53 flights)
79%
May
Mar 73% → May 79% on time
| Month | On-time percentage | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | 73% | 51 |
| April 2026 | 75% | 56 |
| May 2026 | 79% | 57 |
Same trip, other airports
Keep nerding
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.