Providence to Chicago

What the Data Says About PVD to ORD

The Providence to Chicago corridor (PVD → ORD) covers roughly 849 miles and is served by 42 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,588 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 93.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,546 flights were recorded on this pairing — 32 cancelled (1.3%) and 6 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 42 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 6,588 total flights analyzed, the 81.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 93.3-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 65% on-time — a 30-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the PVD to ORD route, the combination of a 81.9% on-time rate, 93.3-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 42 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.