Chicago to Roanoke

What the Data Says About ORD to ROA

The Chicago to Roanoke corridor (ORD → ROA) covers roughly 531 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,374 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 70.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,577 flights were recorded on this pairing — 24 cancelled (1.5%) and 10 diverted (0.6%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,374 total flights analyzed, the 79.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 70.8-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 53% on-time — a 42-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to ROA route, the combination of a 79.2% on-time rate, 70.8-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.