Chicago to Providence

What the Data Says About ORD to PVD

The Chicago to Providence corridor (ORD → PVD) covers roughly 849 miles and is served by 43 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,573 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 70.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,548 flights were recorded on this pairing — 20 cancelled (0.8%) and 4 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 6,573 total flights analyzed, the 79.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 70.2-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 96% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 56% on-time — a 40-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to PVD route, the combination of a 79.6% on-time rate, 70.2-minute average delay, 0.8% recent cancellation rate, and 43 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.