Rapid City to Chicago

What the Data Says About RAP to ORD

The Rapid City to Chicago corridor (RAP → ORD) covers roughly 780 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,983 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 80.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,331 flights were recorded on this pairing — 18 cancelled (1.4%) and 9 diverted (0.7%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 14 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,983 total flights analyzed, the 81.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 80.8-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 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 84% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 22-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the RAP to ORD route, the combination of a 81.1% on-time rate, 80.8-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.