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WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Sacramento → Chicago

SMFORD · 1,781 miles · Sacramento International Airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport

78
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
77%
Arrive within 15 minutes
10 min
Average arrival delay
1.0%
Cancelled
1,307
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.

  1. 1.United Airlines80%987 flights
  2. 2.American Airlines68%320 flights

What the data says

Morning flights do better here.

SMF–ORD flights departing between 6–9 AM arrived on time 90% of the time, versus 63% between 3–6 PM.

Sunday scaries are real for this one.

SMF–ORD flights arrived on time 82% of the time on Thursdays. On Sundays: 71%.

United Airlines runs this route best.

United Airlines arrived on time 80% of the time on this route; American Airlines managed 68%.

Best historical flights

Ranked by on-time arrivals, minimum 100 flights. Past performance, not a promise.

Top flights by on-time rate

More flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon75%(187 flights)
  • Tue80%(181 flights)
  • Wed78%(183 flights)
  • Thu82%(181 flights)
  • Fri78%(176 flights)
  • Sat77%(183 flights)
  • Sun71%(192 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 12–3 AM72%(46 flights)
  • 6–9 AM90%(354 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM82%(301 flights)
  • 12–3 PM64%(282 flights)
  • 3–6 PM63%(86 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM73%(214 flights)
On-time trend by month
87%
May

Jun 68% → May 87% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202568%119
July 202553%118
August 202568%120
September 202582%116
October 202585%123
November 202578%87
December 202579%75
January 202679%67
February 202691%56
March 202677%109
April 202682%142
May 202687%151

Based on 1,307 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.