Fort Dodge to Chicago

What the Data Says About FOD to ORD

The Fort Dodge to Chicago corridor (FOD → ORD) covers roughly 325 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 1,785 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 125.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,082 flights were recorded on this pairing — 34 cancelled (3.1%) and 2 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 1,785 total flights analyzed, the 84.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 125.7-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, Oct 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Sep 2024 came in at 67% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the FOD to ORD route, the combination of a 84.5% on-time rate, 125.7-minute average delay, 3.1% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.