La Crosse to Chicago

What the Data Says About LSE to ORD

The La Crosse to Chicago corridor (LSE → ORD) covers roughly 215 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,773 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 81.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,567 flights were recorded on this pairing — 33 cancelled (2.1%) and 1 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,773 total flights analyzed, the 86.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 81.5-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 71% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LSE to ORD route, the combination of a 86.4% on-time rate, 81.5-minute average delay, 2.1% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.