ORD to SNA flight delays
Chicago, IL (ORD) Santa Ana, CA (SNA) · 1,726 miles
2,212 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
75.31%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.08%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
55 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
15 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The 2 airlines here are separated by under 1 point — close enough to call a tie. Choose on price and departure time.
Flights from Chicago to Santa Ana run late more often than the average route, though not severely.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, American Airlines arrived on time most often on ORD to SNA. United Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in May and worst in April.
Every airline on ORD to SNA
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 1,172 | 75.41% | 1.79% | 62 min | D |
| United Airlines | 1,040 | 75.2% | 0.29% | 48 min | C |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SNA to ORD Santa Ana back to Chicago 76.72% on time COther routes from Chicago
Common questions
Are flights from Chicago to Santa Ana usually delayed?
75.31% of flights on the ORD to SNA route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Chicago to Santa Ana?
American Airlines, at 75.41% on time across 1,172 flights. The least punctual on the route was United Airlines at 75.2%.
How often are ORD to SNA flights cancelled?
1.08% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 11 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Chicago to Santa Ana?
May, when 83.7% of flights arrived on time. The worst was April at 71.4%.
When ORD to SNA flights are late, how late are they?
About 55 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 SNA 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 →