San Francisco (SFO) → Chicago (ORD)
A reference for the San Francisco International Airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport route. You'll find the operators on file, the great-circle geometry, the connecting options if no nonstop fits your dates, and a short profile of each endpoint airport.
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Chicago (ORD) covers a great-circle distance of roughly 2,964 km (1,842 miles). Aircraft leave San Francisco International Airport on an initial east heading. As US domestic sectors go, this one sits in the long-haul bracket: long enough that most carriers run it as its own dedicated rotation, but short enough to fit inside a single crew duty period.
3 carriers file a direct SFO to ORD sector, with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines among the operators on record. A route attracting this many carriers usually points to a city pair with both leisure and business demand, or a competitive hub-to-hub link where the airline alliances overlap on the same metal.
Operators on the SFO → ORD direction
Carriers with at least one scheduled rotation on this sector in the OpenFlights dataset, ranked by the number of code-shared filings.
| IATA | Airline | Country | Callsign |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | American Airlines | United States | AMERICAN |
| AS | Alaska Airlines | ALASKA | Inc. |
| UA | United Airlines | United States | UNITED |
This is a long-haul sector. It's long enough that the heaviest rotations need wide-body aircraft, but short enough that twin-aisle types like the Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 carry the bulk of the traffic ahead of the larger 777 and A350. Plan for an in-flight meal service, an entertainment cycle, and a block time near 4h 14m.
If a nonstop doesn't match your dates, Atlanta (ATL), London (LHR), and Beijing (PEK) show up on both ends of the network and make the most natural connecting points. The connecting-hubs grid below extends that list to the eight strongest options, ranked by each airport's overall departure activity. That ranking is a fast proxy for how many onward flights a single stop is likely to feed.
Connecting hubs
Airports that already appear on both ends of this network. They're the natural one-stop options when no nonstop matches your dates, ranked by overall departure activity.
Both endpoints sit inside the United States, so this counts as a domestic sector for fare-bucket, baggage, and carry-on purposes. Reservations on US carriers usually pick up the standard domestic checked-bag fee unless you hold elite status, and TSA PreCheck eligibility applies at the departure airport. See the United States routes index for other domestic pairs in the same network.
On the day of operation, the SFO to ORD direction lifts off heading east, then the great-circle track curves to compensate for the Earth's rotation. The return ORD to SFO sector heads west out of the gate, with 2 operators on file for the inbound side. Combine the two operator lists for a full picture of the city pair's competitive landscape.
Endpoints
Other routes from San Francisco (SFO)
Other destinations served from the same origin. Handy for combining trips or for finding an alternate first leg.
Other routes into Chicago (ORD)
Other origins that already file scheduled service into the destination airport.
Reading this route page
The operator list reflects scheduled-route filings in the OpenFlights dataset, not real-time availability. A carrier appearing here publishes a scheduled service on this sector. It isn't a live timetable, and the actual flight numbers, frequencies, and aircraft types shift season to season. For booking and current schedules, cross-reference the airline page above with the carrier's own website.
Distance here is the great-circle arc between the two airports' published coordinates. Real flight tracks wander off that line because of wind, ATC routings, oceanic crossings, and political airspace constraints. Block time is an estimate covering ground taxi, climb, cruise at typical jet speeds, and descent. Real block times shift with aircraft type, weather, and traffic, so treat the stat-strip number as a planning indicator rather than a published flight time.