Route reliability
Denver (DEN) to Chicago (ORD): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Denver, CO (DEN) to Chicago, IL (ORD), September 2025 to August 2026.
Denver, COChicago, IL
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DEN to ORD
Denver, CO to Chicago, IL
- On time
- 70.6%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 1.1%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
- 60+ min late
- 11.0%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 6,109in 12 months5 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- American Airlines71.6% on time · 1,473 flights
On time less often than the U.S. average, with fewer cancellations.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle Small sample (under 300 flights) | 73.6% | 0.8% | 7.8% | 60 min | 0.8% | 129 |
| 2. American Airlines Most reliable | 71.6% | 1.8% | 12.4% | 119 min | 0.4% | 1,473 |
| 3. United Airlines | 70.8% | 0.8% | 10.3% | 81 min | 0.7% | 3,885 |
| 4. Southwest Airlines | 69.4% | 0.3% | 8.3% | 56 min | 0.0% | 301 |
| 5. Frontier Airlines | 62.3% | 2.2% | 15.6% | 83 min | 0.6% | 321 |
On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.
What this means
American Airlines has the strongest record on this route.
- American Airlines had the best on-time record from Denver (DEN) to Chicago (ORD): 71.6% of its 1,473 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 62.3% for Frontier Airlines.
- Envoy Air (73.6% on 129 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
- 1.1% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 91), 0.8 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 11.0% of flights, about 1 in 9, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 88 min.
- Overall, 70.6% of flights on this route arrived on time, 5.0 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, September was the most reliable month on this route (81.6% on time) and July the least reliable (60.9%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 2.9% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (88.9% on time); flights scheduled to depart 6 pm to 7 pm were the least (35.6%).
- In the other direction, Chicago (ORD) to Denver (DEN), 73.3% of flights were on time and 1.2% were cancelled. Compare airlines ORD to DEN.
Best and worst months to fly DEN to ORD
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 70.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70.3% | 1,333 |
| February | 78.2% | 1,309 |
| March | 75.1% | 1,522 |
| April | 73.8% | 1,541 |
| May | 70.8% | 1,718 |
| June | 64.3% | 1,639 |
| July | 60.9% | 1,714 |
| August | 64.3% | 1,760 |
| September | 81.6% | 1,713 |
| October | 81.0% | 1,755 |
| November | 78.6% | 1,463 |
| December | 79.7% | 1,443 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | October (83.1%) | June (63.3%) |
| United Airlines | September (81.7%) | July (61.5%) |
| Southwest Airlines | September (82.5%) | June (54.8%) |
| Frontier Airlines | October (79.1%) | May (40.3%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 77.6% | 604 |
| Oct 2025 | 76.3% | 616 |
| Nov 2025 | 69.9% | 422 |
| Dec 2025 | 68.8% | 416 |
| Jan 2026 | 71.0% | 389 |
| Feb 2026 | 78.9% | 432 |
| Mar 2026 | 66.5% | 486 |
| Apr 2026 | 72.6% | 493 |
| May 2026 | 75.6% | 583 |
| Jun 2026 | 65.4% | 537 |
| Jul 2026 | 64.2% | 553 |
| Aug 2026 | 59.7% | 578 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 88.9% | 514 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 86.3% | 648 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 88.1% | 135 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 80.0% | 611 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 79.5% | 146 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 73.5% | 446 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 72.0% | 353 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 68.6% | 439 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 63.9% | 269 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 58.6% | 326 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 57.6% | 543 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 52.2% | 665 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 35.6% | 132 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 67.9% | 389 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 71.5% | 368 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 73.2% | 123 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | Insufficient sample | 2 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Nonstop scheduled flights from Denver, CO (DEN) to Chicago, IL (ORD), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.