ORD to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 1,723 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
72%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.2%
48 flights
Avg arrival delay
20 min
67 min when late
Airlines
4
3,870 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Chicago (ORD) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 72% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1.2% were cancelled, and 10% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (78% on time); American Airlines was the least (66%).
- Departures scheduled around 7am did best (88% on time); around 9pm did worst (47%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (78% on time) and Friday the least (66%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (41%).
Which airline is most on time from ORD to SAN?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 78% | 0.4% | 16 min | 6.9% | 1,673 |
| Alaska Airlines | 69% | 2.3% | 24 min | 11.1% | 777 |
| Frontier Airlines | 68% | 0.0% | 40 min | 22.6% | 31 |
| American Airlines | 66% | 1.7% | 23 min | 12.4% | 1,389 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am86%124 flights
- 7am88%444 flights
- 8am82%406 flights
- 9am72%365 flights
- 10am71%204 flights
- 11am68%227 flights
- 12pm77%48 flights
- 1pm79%311 flights
- 2pm65%113 flights
- 3pm71%169 flights
- 4pm65%412 flights
- 5pm71%137 flights
- 6pm62%136 flights
- 7pm61%393 flights
- 8pm61%244 flights
- 9pm47%137 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday67%1.2% cancelled
- Tuesday78%0.8% cancelled
- Wednesday74%0.8% cancelled
- Thursday69%0.9% cancelled
- Friday66%0.7% cancelled
- Saturday78%1.4% cancelled
- Sunday71%2.9% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft41%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)29%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion23%
- Extreme weather7%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather58%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)21%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion21%
- Security0%
ORD to SAN: common questions
- How often are ORD to SAN flights on time?
- 72% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Chicago to San Diego cancelled?
- 1.2% of scheduled flights were cancelled (48 of 3,870).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 20 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 67 min behind schedule on average, and 9.8% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at ORD?
- Flights on this route spent 27 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to ORD — 78% on time
More flights from Chicago
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: ORD → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.