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 4 in 5 on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


American	ORD	RAP	2h 34m	83%	0.7%	298	Flying now
United	ORD	RAP	2h 41m	77%	3.3%	394	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	ORD 05:00 → DEN 06:42UA 2666	1h 13m Denver	DEN 07:55 → RAP 09:19UA 5927 · flown by SkyWest	5h 19m	99%	91%
United Details →	ORD 06:00 → DEN 07:42UA 2806	3h 33m Denver	DEN 11:15 → RAP 12:29UA 1623	7h 29m	100%	86%
Delta Details →	ORD 08:36 → MSP 10:15DL 1554	3h 16m Minneapolis	MSP 13:31 → RAP 14:19DL 3967 · flown by SkyWest	6h 43m	96%	80%
United Details →	ORD 08:40 → DEN 10:31UA 526	2h 54m Denver	DEN 13:25 → RAP 14:46UA 5556 · flown by SkyWest	7h 06m	100%	80%
Delta Details →	ORD 06:30 → MSP 08:06DL 1717	1h 27m Minneapolis	MSP 09:33 → RAP 10:18DL 3971 · flown by SkyWest	4h 48m	92%	77%
United Details →	ORD 07:05 → DEN 08:55UA 1217	1h 10m Denver	DEN 10:05 → RAP 11:30UA 4674 · flown by SkyWest	5h 25m	94%	76%
United Details →	ORD 10:54 → DEN 12:45UA 581	2h 58m Denver	DEN 15:43 → RAP 17:12UA 5490 · flown by SkyWest	7h 18m	97%	75%
American Details →	ORD 09:40 → DFW 12:13AA 3052	2h 45m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 14:58 → RAP 16:20AA 3762 · flown by Envoy	7h 40m	99%	74%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	ORD 12:27 → MSP 14:10DL 1567	50m Minneapolis	MSP 15:00 → RAP 15:48DL 3851 · flown by SkyWest	4h 21m	63%	48%
United Details →	ORD 16:12 → DEN 18:13UA 2769	1h 02m Denver	DEN 19:15 → RAP 20:38UA 5608 · flown by SkyWest	5h 26m	62%	33%
United Details →	ORD 18:17 → DEN 20:22UA 1974	48m Denver	DEN 21:10 → RAP 22:25UA 2781	5h 08m	47%	17%

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 13m · leaves 05:00 1%

CLT · 1h 17m · leaves 05:07 6%

DFW · 1h 08m · leaves 07:00 18%

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 48m · leaves 18:17 53%

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.


American AA 1747 ORD 06:41 → DEN United UA 1623 DEN 11:15 → RAP Connection details →	2h 51m	6h 48m	95%	83%
American AA 4162 ORD 08:22 → MSP Delta DL 3967 MSP 13:31 → RAP Connection details →	3h 25m	6h 57m	100%	82%
United UA 215 ORD 10:25 → MSP Delta DL 3851 MSP 15:00 → RAP Connection details →	2h 48m	6h 23m	100%	79%

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