Chicago to La Crosse

What the Data Says About ORD to LSE

The Chicago to La Crosse corridor (ORD → LSE) covers roughly 215 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,777 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 71.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,571 flights were recorded on this pairing — 35 cancelled (2.2%) and 1 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,777 total flights analyzed, the 83.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 71.2-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 2023 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 47% on-time — a 43-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to LSE route, the combination of a 83.1% on-time rate, 71.2-minute average delay, 2.2% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.