Denver to Chicago

What the Data Says About DEN to ORD

The Denver to Chicago corridor (DEN → ORD) covers roughly 888 miles and is served by 27 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 35,925 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 76.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 12,732 flights were recorded on this pairing — 133 cancelled (1.0%) and 41 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 27 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 35,925 total flights analyzed, the 76.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.7-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, Dec 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 86% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 58% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to ORD route, the combination of a 76.8% on-time rate, 75.7-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 27 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.