Flights Chicago → San Francisco
ORD → SFO
How long is the flight from Chicago to San Francisco?
The flight from Chicago (ORD) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 4h 3m on average. That is the median time recorded across 7 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to San Francisco operates with a mix of aircraft including Boeing 737 and Airbus models, serving one of the busiest airports in terms of annual passenger traffic. With a punctuality rate of 72%, the flights experience an average delay of 19.7 minutes across the total of 1338 flights recorded.
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 Francisco (SFO) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines. Across 3454 flights monitored in recent months, 65% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 27 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.94%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 29.7/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (ORD) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 2,964 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 3m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 34% of ORD-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 3,454 tracked ORD-SFO flights, 65% left on time with an average delay of 27 min and a 1.9% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 85% | -1 min | 0.5% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating ORD-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about ORD-SFO
The flight from Chicago (ORD) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 4h 3m on average. That is the median time recorded across 7 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Chicago (ORD) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 65% with an average delay of 27 minutes, based on 3454 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-San Francisco is 1.94% across 3454 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 Francisco, 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.
