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 (seasonal or thin)


United	MSO	ORD	3h 31m	77%	2.5%	157	Flying now
American	MSO	ORD	3h 30m	75%	0.0%	343	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 Missoula). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Alaska Details →	MSO 19:59 → SEA 20:33AS 2138 · flown by Horizon	3h 44m Seattle	SEA 00:17 → ORD 06:20 +1AS 328	9h 21m	100%	82%
United Details →	MSO 06:05 → DEN 08:11UA 1026	3h 04m Denver	DEN 11:15 → ORD 14:55UA 2865	7h 50m	99%	81%
United Details →	MSO 07:15 → LAX 09:17UA 4741 · flown by SkyWest	1h 28m Los Angeles	LAX 10:45 → ORD 17:04UA 2113	8h 49m	100%	77%
Delta Details →	MSO 05:31 → SLC 07:04DL 2795	46m Salt Lake City	SLC 07:50 → ORD 12:00DL 2247	5h 29m	86%	74%
Delta Details →	MSO 13:17 → SLC 15:00DL 4112 · flown by SkyWest	2h 21m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:21 → ORD 21:29DL 2413	7h 16m	99%	71%
Alaska Details →	MSO 07:03 → SEA 07:45AS 561	49m Seattle	SEA 08:34 → ORD 14:46AS 265	6h 43m	92%	70%
Delta Details →	MSO 05:55 → MSP 09:30DL 2907	3h 56m Minneapolis	MSP 13:26 → ORD 15:05DL 1533	8h 10m	99%	68%
United Details →	MSO 14:25 → DEN 16:30UA 1436	3h 10m Denver	DEN 19:40 → ORD 23:19UA 2085	7h 54m	95%	66%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	MSO 14:15 → DFW 18:46AA 2144	59m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 19:45 → ORD 22:32AA 3531 · flown by Envoy	7h 17m	61%	36%

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

SLC · 46m · leaves 05:31 14%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 59m · leaves 14:15 39%

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 2138 MSO 19:59 → SEA American AA 2881 SEA 23:56 → ORD Connection details →	3h 23m	9h 03m	98%	90%
Alaska AS 2153 MSO 07:00 → SEA American AA 2523 SEA 10:22 → ORD Connection details →	2h 50m	8h 50m	100%	74%
Alaska AS 561 MSO 07:03 → SEA United UA 2835 SEA 10:52 → ORD Connection details →	3h 07m	9h 02m	100%	72%

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