Best airline from Des Moines to Chicago
Most punctual on this route
84.68% on time across 263 flights · 5.7% cancelled
That is 6.8 points clear of Republic Airways, the next best on this route at 77.92%.
Every airline on DSM to ORD, ranked
| # | Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Airlines | 263 | 84.68% | 5.7% | C |
| 2 | Republic Airways | 565 | 77.92% | 4.6% | D |
| 3 | Envoy Air | 464 | 76.89% | 2.59% | D |
| 4 | United Airlines | 943 | 73.24% | 1.7% | D |
| 5 | SkyWest Airlines | 1,167 | 66.61% | 6.08% | F |
Why this is worth checking per route
An airline's overall punctuality is an average across everywhere it flies, and averages hide the thing you are booking. A carrier can be middling nationally and the best option on this particular pair of airports — because of which slots it holds, what time of day it schedules, and which aircraft feeds the flight.
On DSM to ORD the spread between best and worst is 18.1 points. Both carriers fly the same corridor, into the same weather and the same air traffic control — so a gap that size is a fact about the airlines, not the route.
Punctuality is one dimension of a good airline and not the one most people would name first. It is, though, the only one measured the same way for everybody and published by someone with no stake in the answer. Full DSM to ORD record → · Best time of year to fly it →