Chicago to Dubuque

What the Data Says About ORD to DBQ

The Chicago to Dubuque corridor (ORD → DBQ) covers roughly 147 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 1,392 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,299 flights were recorded on this pairing — 46 cancelled (3.5%) and 4 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 1,392 total flights analyzed, the 85.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.8-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 2021 posted the best performance on this corridor at 98% on-time, while Oct 2021 came in at 78% on-time — a 20-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to DBQ route, the combination of a 85.8% on-time rate, 72.8-minute average delay, 3.5% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.