Chicago to Bozeman

What the Data Says About ORD to BZN

The Chicago to Bozeman corridor (ORD → BZN) covers roughly 1,185 miles and is served by 28 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,884 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 64.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,989 flights were recorded on this pairing — 12 cancelled (0.6%) and 11 diverted (0.6%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 28 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,884 total flights analyzed, the 79.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 64.5-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 58% on-time — a 38-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to BZN route, the combination of a 79.3% on-time rate, 64.5-minute average delay, 0.6% recent cancellation rate, and 28 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.