Chicago to Denver

What the Data Says About ORD to DEN

The Chicago to Denver corridor (ORD → DEN) covers roughly 888 miles and is served by 27 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 35,971 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 71.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 12,756 flights were recorded on this pairing — 157 cancelled (1.2%) and 31 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 27 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 35,971 total flights analyzed, the 79.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 71.6-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 89% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 65% on-time — a 24-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to DEN route, the combination of a 79.3% on-time rate, 71.6-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 27 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.