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Route Reliability

Chicago → Des Moines

ORD–DSM · 299 miles · Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Des Moines International Airport

62
A Little Dicey
WanderNerd Reliability Score
72%
Arrive within 15 minutes
17 min
Average arrival delay
3.3%
Cancelled
3,509
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.

  1. 1.United Airlines74%1,738 flights
  2. 2.American Airlines69%1,771 flights

What the data says

The 12–3 PM departure wins.

ORD–DSM flights departing between 12–3 PM arrived on time 81% of the time, versus 55% between 9 PM–12 AM.

Monday is the weak spot.

ORD–DSM flights arrived on time 78% of the time on Tuesdays. On Mondays: 68%.

United Airlines has a slight edge here.

United Airlines arrived on time 74% of the time on this route; American Airlines managed 69%.

Keep a backup plan handy.

This route was cancelled 3.3% of the time. Typical for U.S. flights is around 1–2%.

Best historical flights

Ranked by on-time arrivals, minimum 100 flights. Past performance, not a promise.

Top flights by on-time rate

More flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon68%(498 flights)
  • Tue78%(480 flights)
  • Wed74%(482 flights)
  • Thu70%(495 flights)
  • Fri71%(469 flights)
  • Sat73%(458 flights)
  • Sun69%(502 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 12–3 AM—(1 flights)
  • 6–9 AM80%(356 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM80%(762 flights)
  • 12–3 PM81%(655 flights)
  • 3–6 PM65%(676 flights)
  • 6–9 PM64%(562 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM55%(372 flights)
On-time trend by month
79%
May

Jun 68% → May 79% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202568%287
July 202564%279
August 202571%284
September 202581%264
October 202576%296
November 202579%246
December 202561%263
January 202665%220
February 202675%238
March 202662%284
April 202676%356
May 202679%367

Same trip, other airports

Keep nerding

Based on 3,509 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.