Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 3 in 4 on time.

Nonstops


United	BZN	ORD	3h 11m	80%	1.3%	758	Flying now
American	BZN	ORD	3h 10m	67%	0.8%	509	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Chicago on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Chicago is 1 h ahead of Bozeman). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	BZN 17:26 → LAX 19:07UA 741	3h 28m Los Angeles	LAX 22:35 → ORD 04:51 +1UA 353	10h 25m	99%	88%
Delta Details →	BZN 05:15 → SLC 06:36DL 491	1h 14m Salt Lake City	SLC 07:50 → ORD 12:00DL 2247	5h 45m	97%	84%
United Details →	BZN 06:30 → DEN 08:24UA 1362	1h 11m Denver	DEN 09:35 → ORD 13:15UA 2329	5h 45m	97%	81%
Alaska Details →	BZN 06:03 → SEA 06:57AS 461	1h 37m Seattle	SEA 08:34 → ORD 14:46AS 265	7h 43m	100%	76%
Alaska Details →	BZN 15:05 → SEA 16:05AS 286	1h 43m Seattle	SEA 17:48 → ORD 23:59AS 538	7h 54m	92%	74%
Delta Details →	BZN 12:13 → SLC 13:39DL 1971	3h 42m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:21 → ORD 21:29DL 2413	8h 20m	99%	73%
Alaska Details →	BZN 10:26 → SEA 11:23AS 2141 · flown by Horizon	1h 47m Seattle	SEA 13:10 → ORD 19:21AS 410	7h 55m	98%	69%
United Details →	BZN 14:26 → DEN 16:20UA 2258	3h 20m Denver	DEN 19:40 → ORD 23:19UA 2085	7h 53m	97%	68%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	BZN 17:51 → DEN 19:58UA 5736 · flown by SkyWest	1h 07m Denver	DEN 21:05 → ORD 00:44 +1UA 2649	5h 53m	70%	46%
United Details →	BZN 13:10 → EWR 19:33UA 2003	46m Newark	EWR 20:19 → ORD 22:06UA 546	7h 56m	67%	42%
United Details →	BZN 16:29 → DEN 18:23UA 1322	47m Denver	DEN 19:10 → ORD 22:49UA 2258	5h 20m	46%	32%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

DEN · 1h 11m · leaves 06:30 3%

SLC · 1h 14m · leaves 05:15 3%

SEA · 1h 06m · leaves 08:25 7%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 05m · leaves 11:39 23%

DEN · 1h 07m · leaves 17:51 30%

EWR · 46m · leaves 13:10 33%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


Alaska AS 3498 BZN 18:58 → SEA American AA 2881 SEA 23:56 → ORD Connection details →	3h 54m	10h 04m	100%	91%
Southwest WN 1137 BZN 19:15 → LAS United UA 726 LAS 23:59 → ORD Connection details →	3h 34m	9h 25m	96%	85%
Southwest WN 1130 BZN 06:35 → DEN United UA 2865 DEN 11:15 → ORD Connection details →	3h 05m	7h 20m	98%	80%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON