Historical on-time performance
Chicago to San Francisco
1,846 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on ORD–SFO arrive on time 69% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate69%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay65 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.3%of scheduled flights
based on 5,588 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- United AirlinesbestOn-time71%Medianon timep9060 minCancel1.0%Flights3,772
- American AirlinesOn-time65%Medianon timep9070 minCancel1.8%Flights1,755
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time59%Median5 minp9080 minCancel3.3%Flights61
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline26%
- Weather4%
- Air traffic (NAS)28%
- Late aircraft41%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline41%
- Weather55%
- Air traffic (NAS)4%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 73 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly ORD → SFO
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 82% on time.
- Mornings82% on time · p90 30 min · 4,499 flights
- Middays75% on time · p90 55 min · 3,152 flights
- Afternoons74% on time · p90 60 min · 2,911 flights
- Overnights62% on time · p90 75 min · 1,922 flights
- Evenings60% on time · p90 75 min · 3,047 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 69% to 76% on time.
- Tuesdays76% on time · p90 50 min · 2,111 flights
- Saturdays75% on time · p90 50 min · 2,063 flights
- Wednesdays72% on time · p90 55 min · 2,130 flights
- Thursdays72% on time · p90 60 min · 2,313 flights
- Mondays71% on time · p90 60 min · 2,291 flights
- Sundays69% on time · p90 65 min · 2,310 flights
- Fridays69% on time · p90 60 min · 2,313 flights
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