Chicago to Albuquerque

What the Data Says About ORD to ABQ

The Chicago to Albuquerque corridor (ORD → ABQ) covers roughly 1,118 miles and is served by 38 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,923 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 60.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,977 flights were recorded on this pairing — 16 cancelled (0.8%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 38 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,923 total flights analyzed, the 80.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 60.7-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 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to ABQ route, the combination of a 80.2% on-time rate, 60.7-minute average delay, 0.8% recent cancellation rate, and 38 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.