Historical on-time performance
San Francisco to Chicago
1,846 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SFO–ORD arrive on time 75% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate75%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay45 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.3%of scheduled flights
based on 5,590 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- United AirlinesbestOn-time78%Medianon timep9040 minCancel1.0%Flights3,774
- American AirlinesOn-time72%Medianon timep9060 minCancel1.9%Flights1,755
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time61%Median5 minp9065 minCancel3.3%Flights61
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline31%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)26%
- Late aircraft41%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline42%
- Weather52%
- Air traffic (NAS)5%
- 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 SFO → ORD
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 — 88% on time.
- Mornings88% on time · p90 15 min · 4,809 flights
- Evenings81% on time · p90 35 min · 1,037 flights
- Early mornings79% on time · p90 25 min · 369 flights
- Overnights77% on time · p90 40 min · 3,160 flights
- Afternoons75% on time · p90 50 min · 2,189 flights
- Middays67% on time · p90 55 min · 3,972 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 76% to 81% on time.
- Tuesdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 2,106 flights
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 2,086 flights
- Wednesdays78% on time · p90 35 min · 2,150 flights
- Thursdays77% on time · p90 40 min · 2,311 flights
- Sundays77% on time · p90 40 min · 2,297 flights
- Mondays77% on time · p90 45 min · 2,282 flights
- Fridays76% on time · p90 45 min · 2,304 flights
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