Cheap flights from Santa Ana, California to Chicago from $159

The month of March is, on average, the cheapest month to fly to Chicago from Santa Ana, California, with most prices found around $72. If you’re not able to fly to Chicago in March, then November is your next best option. Flight prices from Santa Ana, California to Chicago during November average around $103.

The cheapest day to depart on your flight to Chicago is on a Wednesday when prices can be found for as low as $401. This is often the case because there is less demand to fly during this day of the week. When flying out on a Sunday, the most expensive travel day of the week, you can expect to see flight prices from Santa Ana, California to Chicago for around $491.

Our most recent data shows that the best time of day to fly to Chicago is in the afternoon. Flights from Santa Ana, California to Chicago during this time can be as low as $343. In contrast, the most expensive time of day to depart to Chicago is at noon when prices are around $505.

Fly from Santa Ana J. Wayne/Orange Cnty to Chicago O'Hare Intl for the best Santa Ana J. Wayne/Orange Cnty - Chicago flight prices

You are more likely to see cheaper flights to Chicago from Santa Ana, California when booking weeks ahead of your departure date. In general, you can expect to find flights to Chicago for around $434 when searching weeks out. However, flight prices might be lower outside of this timeframe. For example, people recently found flights to Chicago from Santa Ana, California for as low as $367 on momondo.

There are 4 cabin classes available to choose from on Santa Ana, California to Chicago flights. Cabin price and availability will vary by airline so perform a search above to find the right deals for you.

Delta, Southwest, and Allegiant Air are the most popular carriers operating from Santa Ana J. Wayne/Orange Cnty to Chicago

American Airlines, United Airlines and Frontier are the top three most popular airlines that fly to Chicago from Santa Ana, California according to our data. American Airlines is the first choice among our users, with 43% of people opting to fly with this airline when traveling to Chicago. Keep in mind that there are 7 different airlines that fly to Chicago on a routine basis, so you have a few additional options to choose from.

Historically, on average around 9% of flights between Santa Ana and Chicago have experienced a delay on any given week. The average delay length over the past 12 months has been 181 minutes.

Generally, flights departing in the morning tend to experience fewer delays. Flights in the early afternoon have, in the past, seen delays more frequently in comparison.

Friday is statistically the day of the week which experiences the fewest number of delays on this flight route. Sunday has historically seen more delays on average compared to the rest of the week.

According to our data, United Airlines have had the least number of delays on this route over the last 12 months; with about 5% of their flights experiencing any sort of delay.

The number of flights available between Santa Ana, California and Chicago is 19 per day as of July 2026. The most frequent departure time is 7:00AM, with 74% of daily flights leaving at noon.

138 flights are operational weekly from Santa Ana, California to Chicago as of July 2026. The most popular departure day for this route is Fri, with 21% of flights per week taking off on this day.