Chicago (ORD) – Sacramento (SMF)
- Distance
- 2,867 km
- 1,781 mi · 1,548 nm
- Flight time
- 4 h 35 min / 4 h 7 min
- Average gate to gate: ORD → SMF / back
- Time difference
- 2 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 360 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (213 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 380,798
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +10.7%
- Flights / week
- 51
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 85%
- 448,688 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 2
- UA, AA
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from ORD
- 274°
- Heading from SMF
- 72°
- Halfway point
- 41.58, -105.17
- Great-circle km
- 2,860 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air ORD → SMF
- 3 h 59 min
- In the air SMF → ORD
- 3 h 31 min
- Clocks
- Sacramento is 2 h behind Chicago
The estimate for a route without real times is 4 h 10 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 32,961 |
| Sep 2025 | 34,045 |
| Oct 2025 | 34,979 |
| Nov 2025 | 25,578 |
| Dec 2025 | 22,448 |
| Jan 2026 | 18,600 |
| Feb 2026 | 15,517 |
| Mar 2026 | 30,530 |
| Apr 2026 | 39,243 |
| May 2026 | 44,695 |
| Jun 2026 | 41,430 |
| Jul 2026 | 40,772 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 241 |
| Sep 2025 | 233 |
| Oct 2025 | 245 |
| Nov 2025 | 176 |
| Dec 2025 | 150 |
| Jan 2026 | 134 |
| Feb 2026 | 113 |
| Mar 2026 | 219 |
| Apr 2026 | 288 |
| May 2026 | 301 |
| Jun 2026 | 267 |
| Jul 2026 | 268 |
Airlines flying ORD–SMF nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 37 | 75% |
| AAAmerican Airlines | 13 | 25% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- Boeing 737-800 · 1,304 flights
- Boeing 737-900ER · 476 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 322 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 164 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 112 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 85 flights
- Airbus Industrie A319 · 83 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 64 flights
Punctuality
- On time
- 73.2%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 21 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.5%
- Flights counted
- 2,684
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 75.4% | 18 min |
| AAAmerican Airlines | 67.1% | 28 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 30% · aircraft arriving late 42% · air traffic system 24% · weather 5% · security 0%.
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources
What passengers paid
- Average fare, Q1 2026
- $344
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $331
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- United Air Lines
- 67% of passengers · $375
- Lowest-fare airline
- Delta Air Lines
- 11% of passengers · $259
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $331 · Q3 2025 $317 · Q4 2025 $338 · Q1 2026 $344).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $351, likely $304–$400
The average fare paid we expect a year after Q1 2026, the newest DOT quarter. On this route, past forecasts made this way fell inside the range 100% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 4.6%). An estimate from US DOT data: not a price you can book, not a guarantee, not advice on when to buy. How the outlook works
U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 2,860 km.
Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.
Every airport pair between Chicago and Sacramento
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports
More routes from ORD
| Route | Distance | Passengers / year |
|---|---|---|
| ORD → LGA | 1,180 km | 2,736,902 |
| ORD → LAX | 2,808 km | 2,332,419 |
| ORD → SFO | 2,971 km | 1,976,484 |
| ORD → DEN | 1,430 km | 1,974,190 |
| ORD → MCO | 1,617 km | 1,924,694 |
| ORD → DFW | 1,290 km | 1,916,312 |
| ORD → BOS | 1,395 km | 1,886,038 |
| ORD → EWR | 1,157 km | 1,731,402 |
| ORD → IAH | 1,489 km | 1,711,056 |
| ORD → PHX | 2,317 km | 1,706,053 |