Cincinnati to Chicago

What the Data Says About CVG to ORD

The Cincinnati to Chicago corridor (CVG → ORD) covers roughly 264 miles and is served by 28 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,347 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 87.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,026 flights were recorded on this pairing — 113 cancelled (1.6%) and 11 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 28 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,347 total flights analyzed, the 80.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 87.8-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 86% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CVG to ORD route, the combination of a 80.4% on-time rate, 87.8-minute average delay, 1.6% recent cancellation rate, and 28 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.