Chicago to Cincinnati

What the Data Says About ORD to CVG

The Chicago to Cincinnati corridor (ORD → CVG) covers roughly 264 miles and is served by 26 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,599 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 67.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,028 flights were recorded on this pairing — 104 cancelled (1.5%) and 3 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 26 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,599 total flights analyzed, the 80.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 67.4-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 87% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 61% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to CVG route, the combination of a 80.5% on-time rate, 67.4-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 26 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.