Chicago (ORD) – Santa Ana (SNA)
- Distance
- 2,777 km
- 1,726 mi · 1,500 nm
- Flight time
- 4 h 27 min / 4 h 7 min
- Average gate to gate: ORD → SNA / back
- Time difference
- 2 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 349 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (206 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 613,764
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +1.8%
- Flights / week
- 82
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 88%
- 698,746 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 2
- AA, UA
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
- 261°
- Heading from SNA
- 62°
- Halfway point
- 38.79, -103.75
- Great-circle km
- 2,772 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air ORD → SNA
- 3 h 53 min
- In the air SNA → ORD
- 3 h 28 min
- Clocks
- Santa Ana is 2 h behind Chicago
The estimate for a route without real times is 4 h 5 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 56,881 |
| Sep 2025 | 52,748 |
| Oct 2025 | 58,762 |
| Nov 2025 | 45,171 |
| Dec 2025 | 48,103 |
| Jan 2026 | 45,908 |
| Feb 2026 | 45,749 |
| Mar 2026 | 51,334 |
| Apr 2026 | 50,405 |
| May 2026 | 52,511 |
| Jun 2026 | 52,284 |
| Jul 2026 | 53,908 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 394 |
| Sep 2025 | 377 |
| Oct 2025 | 416 |
| Nov 2025 | 332 |
| Dec 2025 | 346 |
| Jan 2026 | 341 |
| Feb 2026 | 325 |
| Mar 2026 | 348 |
| Apr 2026 | 346 |
| May 2026 | 359 |
| Jun 2026 | 339 |
| Jul 2026 | 357 |
Airlines flying ORD–SNA nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| AAAmerican Airlines | 43 | 55% |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 39 | 45% |
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 B737 Max 800 · 3,278 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 727 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 156 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 118 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 1 flight
Also carried: 4 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 75.9%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 17 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.2%
- Flights counted
- 4,378
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| AAAmerican Airlines | 74.5% | 20 min |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 77.5% | 14 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 28% · aircraft arriving late 37% · air traffic system 29% · 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
- $326
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $313
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- American Airlines
- 53% of passengers · $296
- Lowest-fare airline
- American Airlines
- 53% of passengers · $296
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $300 · Q3 2025 $302 · Q4 2025 $325 · Q1 2026 $326).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $333, likely $288–$379
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 81% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 7.9%). 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: 2,772 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 Santa Ana
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 |