Bozeman to Chicago

What the Data Says About BZN to ORD

The Bozeman to Chicago corridor (BZN → ORD) covers roughly 1,185 miles and is served by 29 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,882 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 97.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,989 flights were recorded on this pairing — 14 cancelled (0.7%) and 9 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 29 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,882 total flights analyzed, the 80.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 97.8-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, May 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 97% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 65% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the BZN to ORD route, the combination of a 80.9% on-time rate, 97.8-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 29 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.