Chicago to Portland

What the Data Says About ORD to PDX

The Chicago to Portland corridor (ORD → PDX) covers roughly 1,739 miles and is served by 15 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 11,721 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 67.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,782 flights were recorded on this pairing — 53 cancelled (1.1%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 15 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 11,721 total flights analyzed, the 80.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 67.8-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 93% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 36-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to PDX route, the combination of a 80.3% on-time rate, 67.8-minute average delay, 1.1% recent cancellation rate, and 15 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.