ORD to SJC flight delays
Chicago, IL (ORD) San Jose, CA (SJC) · 1,829 miles
301 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
66.89%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.66%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
74 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
26 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In September it ran 38.3 points more punctual than in July — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
The two directions do not behave alike. SJC to ORD arrives on time 24 points more often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
This is a late route. Flights from Chicago to San Jose miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
Only United Airlines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, United Airlines arrived on time most often on ORD to SJC. Flights ran closest to schedule in January and worst in December.
Every airline on ORD to SJC
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 293 | 66.32% | 1.71% | 75 min | F |
| American Airlines | 8 | 87.5% | 0% | 41 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SJC to ORD San Jose back to Chicago 90.88% on time AOther routes from Chicago
Common questions
Are flights from Chicago to San Jose usually delayed?
66.89% of flights on the ORD to SJC route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Chicago to San Jose?
Only United Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 293 flights and 66.32% arriving on time.
How often are ORD to SJC flights cancelled?
1.66% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 17 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Chicago to San Jose?
September, when 90% of flights arrived on time. The worst was July at 51.7%.
When ORD to SJC flights are late, how late are they?
About 74 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on ORD to SJC during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →