Historical on-time performance
San Diego to Chicago
1,723 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SAN–ORD arrive on time 77% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate77%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay40 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.2%of scheduled flights
based on 3,693 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- United AirlinesbestOn-time81%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.5%Flights1,675
- American AirlinesOn-time75%Medianon timep9050 minCancel1.7%Flights1,382
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time72%Medianon timep9045 minCancel2.5%Flights605
- Frontier AirlinesOn-time23%Median50 minp90195 minCancel0.0%Flights31
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline28%
- Weather5%
- Air traffic (NAS)29%
- Late aircraft38%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline22%
- Weather54%
- Air traffic (NAS)24%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 46 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 SAN → ORD
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Overnights are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 93% on time.
- Overnights93% on time · p90 5 min · 1,764 flights
- Mornings86% on time · p90 20 min · 2,451 flights
- Evenings80% on time · p90 35 min · 652 flights
- Middays74% on time · p90 45 min · 2,688 flights
- Afternoons72% on time · p90 60 min · 1,756 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 77% to 84% on time.
- Saturdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 1,250 flights
- Wednesdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 1,267 flights
- Tuesdays83% on time · p90 30 min · 1,266 flights
- Mondays81% on time · p90 30 min · 1,378 flights
- Thursdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,384 flights
- Fridays79% on time · p90 40 min · 1,386 flights
- Sundays77% on time · p90 40 min · 1,380 flights
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