Chicago to Minneapolis

What the Data Says About ORD to MSP

The Chicago to Minneapolis corridor (ORD → MSP) covers roughly 334 miles and is served by 43 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 31,628 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 78.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 12,238 flights were recorded on this pairing — 136 cancelled (1.1%) and 20 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 43 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 31,628 total flights analyzed, the 79.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 78.3-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 93% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 51% on-time — a 42-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to MSP route, the combination of a 79.4% on-time rate, 78.3-minute average delay, 1.1% recent cancellation rate, and 43 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.