Chicago to San Francisco

What the Data Says About ORD to SFO

The Chicago to San Francisco corridor (ORD → SFO) covers roughly 1,846 miles and is served by 8 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 26,476 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 71.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 10,320 flights were recorded on this pairing — 129 cancelled (1.3%) and 14 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 8 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 26,476 total flights analyzed, the 78.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 71.7-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 88% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 54% on-time — a 34-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to SFO route, the combination of a 78.8% on-time rate, 71.7-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 8 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.