Rochester to Chicago

What the Data Says About ROC to ORD

The Rochester to Chicago corridor (ROC → ORD) covers roughly 528 miles and is served by 32 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,546 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 79.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,830 flights were recorded on this pairing — 51 cancelled (1.3%) and 4 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 32 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,546 total flights analyzed, the 81.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 79.8-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 64% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ROC to ORD route, the combination of a 81.5% on-time rate, 79.8-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 32 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.