Chicago to Fort Dodge

What the Data Says About ORD to FOD

The Chicago to Fort Dodge corridor (ORD → FOD) covers roughly 325 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 1,571 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 95.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,081 flights were recorded on this pairing — 30 cancelled (2.8%) and 6 diverted (0.6%). 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 1,571 total flights analyzed, the 82.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 95.9-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, Sep 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Sep 2024 came in at 69% on-time — a 21-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to FOD route, the combination of a 82.5% on-time rate, 95.9-minute average delay, 2.8% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.