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 7 in 10 on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	FCA	ORD	3h 32m	79%	1.4%	285	Flying now
American	FCA	ORD	3h 35m	61%	0.4%	247	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 Kalispell). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	FCA 13:20 → LAX 15:23UA 5427 · flown by SkyWest	1h 37m Los Angeles	LAX 17:00 → ORD 23:16UA 212	8h 56m	98%	85%
United Details →	FCA 06:20 → DEN 08:28UA 1561	2h 47m Denver	DEN 11:15 → ORD 14:55UA 2865	7h 35m	95%	78%
Alaska Details →	FCA 06:33 → SEA 07:05AS 2122 · flown by Horizon	1h 29m Seattle	SEA 08:34 → ORD 14:46AS 265	7h 13m	97%	74%
Delta Details →	FCA 12:22 → SLC 14:09DL 2813	3h 12m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:21 → ORD 21:29DL 2413	8h 11m	100%	74%
Delta Details →	FCA 06:55 → MSP 10:30DL 1578	2h 56m Minneapolis	MSP 13:26 → ORD 15:05DL 1533	7h 10m	99%	67%
United Details →	FCA 14:33 → DEN 16:50UA 1199	2h 20m Denver	DEN 19:10 → ORD 22:49UA 2258	7h 16m	95%	64%
United Details →	FCA 10:42 → DEN 13:06UA 5991 · flown by SkyWest	1h 55m Denver	DEN 15:01 → ORD 18:46UA 1023	7h 04m	98%	60%
American Details →	FCA 12:26 → DFW 17:05AA 1845	3h 55m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 21:00 → ORD 23:39AA 2346	10h 13m	96%	57%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	FCA 14:10 → SAN 16:16AS 2187 · flown by Horizon	1h 07m San Diego	SAN 17:23 → ORD 23:36AS 1493	8h 26m	67%	46%

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.

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 1h 20m · leaves 17:28 17%

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.


Delta DL 1578 FCA 06:55 → MSP American AA 3432 MSP 13:57 → ORD Connection details →	3h 27m	7h 47m	99%	79%
Alaska AS 2122 FCA 06:33 → SEA American AA 2523 SEA 10:22 → ORD Connection details →	3h 17m	9h 17m	97%	71%
United UA 5991 FCA 10:42 → DEN Frontier F9 3174 DEN 17:05 → ORD Connection details →	3h 59m	9h 01m	98%	65%

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