Missoula to Chicago

What the Data Says About MSO to ORD

The Missoula to Chicago corridor (MSO → ORD) covers roughly 1,332 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 1,132 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 75.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 79.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,132 flights were recorded on this pairing — 4 cancelled (0.4%) and 14 diverted (1.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 1,132 total flights analyzed, the 75.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 79.3-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, Sep 2021 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 63% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSO to ORD route, the combination of a 75.8% on-time rate, 79.3-minute average delay, 0.4% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.