Flights Chicago → Denver
ORD → DEN
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to Denver operates with a mix of aircraft including the Boeing 737 series, Airbus A320, and McDonnell Douglas MD-83, among others. With an on-time performance rate of 76%, this route experiences an average delay of 18.1 minutes per flight, based on a total of 1411 flights recorded. The destination airport in Denver, which opened in 1989, handles approximately 82,358,744 passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Chicago (ORD) → Denver (DEN) route is operated by American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1894 flights monitored in recent months, 75% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 20 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.91%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Denver: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (ORD) to Denver (DEN) heads west for about 1,426 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 12m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 37% of ORD-DEN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Denver it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,894 tracked ORD-DEN flights, 75% left on time with an average delay of 20 min and a 3.9% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
| Spirit Airlines (NK) | 74% | 10 min | 1.5% |
Airlines operating ORD-DEN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about ORD-DEN
On the Chicago (ORD) -> Denver (DEN) route, on-time performance is 75% with an average delay of 20 minutes, based on 1894 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Denver is 3.91% across 1894 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Denver, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
