Chicago to Rochester

What the Data Says About ORD to RST

The Chicago to Rochester corridor (ORD → RST) covers roughly 268 miles and is served by 8 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,394 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,728 flights were recorded on this pairing — 41 cancelled (2.4%) and 6 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 8 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,394 total flights analyzed, the 81.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.1-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 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 49% on-time — a 43-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to RST route, the combination of a 81.2% on-time rate, 75.1-minute average delay, 2.4% recent cancellation rate, and 8 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.