Flights San Diego → Chicago
SAN → ORD
Route overview
The flight route from San Diego to Chicago operates with an 81% on-time performance rate, with flights typically experiencing a mean delay of 17.2 minutes. Over the past year, there have been 907 total flights on this route using aircraft such as Boeing 737-800 and -900 models along with Airbus A320s.
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 San Diego (SAN) → Chicago (ORD) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1117 flights monitored in recent months, 83% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 15 minutes. The cancellation rate is 2.42%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.8/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from San Diego the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Diego (SAN) to Chicago (ORD) heads north-east for about 2,768 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 53m.
Departures from San Diego on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 43% of SAN-ORD flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Diego the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,117 tracked SAN-ORD flights, 83% left on time with an average delay of 15 min and a 2.4% 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 SAN-ORD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SAN-ORD
On the San Diego (SAN) -> Chicago (ORD) route, on-time performance is 83% with an average delay of 15 minutes, based on 1117 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Diego-Chicago is 2.42% 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 Chicago, 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.
