Flights Chicago → San Diego
ORD → SAN
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to San Diego operates with a mix of aircraft including Boeing 737 variants and Airbus A320 models, serving the highly trafficked San Diego International Airport which opened in 1928 and handles over 22 million passengers annually. With a total of 908 flights recorded, this route has a 73% on-time performance rate and an average delay time of 17.2 minutes per flight.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Chicago (ORD) → San Diego (SAN) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1117 flights monitored in recent months, 74% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 18 minutes. The cancellation rate is 2.86%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Diego the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to San Diego: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (ORD) to San Diego (SAN) heads west for about 2,768 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 53m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 39% of ORD-SAN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into San Diego it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,117 tracked ORD-SAN flights, 74% left on time with an average delay of 18 min and a 2.9% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 67% | 10 min | 11.9% |
Airlines operating ORD-SAN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about ORD-SAN
On the Chicago (ORD) -> San Diego (SAN) route, on-time performance is 74% with an average delay of 18 minutes, based on 1117 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-San Diego is 2.86% across 1117 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at San Diego, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
