Historical on-time performance
Santa Ana to Chicago
1,726 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SNA–ORD arrive on time 75% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate75%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay40 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.2%of scheduled flights
based on 2,237 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 timep9030 minCancel0.6%Flights1,039
- American AirlinesOn-time72%Medianon timep9055 minCancel1.7%Flights1,198
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline26%
- Weather5%
- Air traffic (NAS)32%
- Late aircraft36%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline12%
- Weather73%
- Air traffic (NAS)15%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 26 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 SNA → 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 — 89% on time.
- Mornings89% on time · p90 10 min · 2,003 flights
- Middays77% on time · p90 40 min · 3,007 flights
- Evenings75% on time · p90 75 min · 194 flights · limited
- Afternoons73% on time · p90 45 min · 1,360 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 72% to 84% on time.
- Tuesdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 937 flights
- Saturdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 904 flights
- Wednesdays83% on time · p90 30 min · 946 flights
- Mondays79% on time · p90 30 min · 978 flights
- Thursdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 978 flights
- Fridays79% on time · p90 30 min · 988 flights
- Sundays72% on time · p90 55 min · 833 flights
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