SJC to ORD flight delays
San Jose, CA (SJC) Chicago, IL (ORD) · 1,829 miles
301 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
90.88%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.33%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
44 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
5 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. ORD to SJC arrives on time 24 points less 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.
Flights from San Jose to Chicago are among the most dependable in the record. A route this punctual is usually a short hop between airports with slots to spare.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from SJC overall run 9.1 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion SJC has, this route is largely escaping it.
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 SJC to ORD. Flights ran closest to schedule in January and worst in November.
Every airline on SJC to ORD
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 | 90.63% | 1.37% | 44 min | A |
| American Airlines | 8 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
ORD to SJC Chicago back to San Jose 66.89% on time FOther routes from San Jose
Common questions
Are flights from San Jose to Chicago usually delayed?
90.88% of flights on the SJC to ORD route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 1 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from San Jose to Chicago?
Only United Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 293 flights and 90.63% arriving on time.
How often are SJC to ORD flights cancelled?
1.33% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 13 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When SJC to ORD flights are late, how late are they?
About 44 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 SJC to ORD 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 →