Flights Santa Ana → Chicago
SNA → ORD
How long is the flight from Santa Ana to Chicago?
The flight from Santa Ana (SNA) to Chicago (ORD) takes 3h 38m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 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 Santa Ana to Chicago operates with an average on-time performance of 80%, experiencing a mean delay of 13.9 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 520 flights using Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-700 aircraft, serving a destination airport that handles nearly 80 million passengers annually.
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 Santa Ana (SNA) → Chicago (ORD) route is operated by American Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1290 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 13 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.93%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Santa Ana the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Santa Ana (SNA) to Chicago (ORD) heads north-east for about 2,772 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 38m.
Departures from Santa Ana on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 60% of SNA-ORD flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Santa Ana the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,290 tracked SNA-ORD flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 13 min and a 0.9% 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) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating SNA-ORD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SNA-ORD
The flight from Santa Ana (SNA) to Chicago (ORD) takes 3h 38m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Santa Ana (SNA) -> Chicago (ORD) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 13 minutes, based on 1290 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Santa Ana-Chicago is 0.93% across 1290 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: American 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.
