$109 Find Cheap Flights from California to Illinois

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from California to Illinois departing on 8/4. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$109
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 3% lower on average.
Flight from Ontario to Chicago O'Hare Airport

Flights from California to Illinois: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from California to Illinois 
CupcakeFlew with Alaska Airlines
SAN
-
ORD
Apr 2026
Please bring a water bottle for hydration during the flight.
StephenFlew with United Airlines
SMF
-
ORD
Jan 2026
If you're trying to make a connecting flight make sure you allow PLENTY of time between flights or be prepared to miss the next flight. Make sure to use the restroom at the last possible moment before landing because you could be sitting on the taxiway for 5 more minutes... 5 more minutes... 5 more minutes... until it's been nearly 2 hours. Don't trust the airline provided ETA provided by apps they don't update it until long after you're delayed. If someone is showing up to give you a ride, make sure they have hours to wait for you.
RodFlew with United Airlines
SAN
-
ORD
Sep 2024
Yes! Don’t reserve a flight with less than 1 1/2 hour connection time or you have a good possibility of missing your connection.
FrancisFlew with United Airlines
LAX
-
ORD
Sep 2024
Check the weather, or bring a. Raincoat! Being from sunny California, I forget it isn’t always sunshine in other states!
GeraldFlew with Alaska Airlines
SFO
-
ORD
Oct 2024
Book a flight as early in the day as possible to avoid incoming flight delays.
KimFlew with American Airlines
SNA
-
ORD
Nov 2024
Bring extra foods and buy extra drinks bring your meds
ShirleyFlew with United Airlines
LAX
-
ORD
May 2024
Check-in using the United AirLines app to access your boarding pass. Arrive at least two hours early at LAX airport.

FAQs for booking flights from California to Illinois

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from California to Illinois?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from California to Illinois.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from California to Illinois?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from California to Illinois is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from California to Illinois?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from California to Illinois with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from California to Illinois?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from California to Illinois up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which airlines fly most frequently to Illinois?

    California and Illinois are connected by different airlines. The airlines that fly that route the most regularly are United Airlines (307 flights per week), Air Canada (253 flights per week), and American Airlines (207 flights per week).

  • How many airports are there in Illinois?

    There are 12 airports in Illinois. The busiest airport is Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD), with 92% of all flights arriving there.

  • Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in Illinois?

    Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in Illinois is Chicago Midway Airport (MDW), with an average flight price of $290.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to Illinois?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Illinois is Wednesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $401. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $486 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Illinois?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to Illinois is generally in the evening, when round-trip flights cost $326 on average. Morning departures are around 36% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Illinois is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $498.

  • What is the cheapest flight to Illinois?

    The cheapest ticket to Illinois from California found in the last 5 days was to Chicago Midway Airport, at $219 round-trip. The most popular route is Burbank (BUR) to Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $219.

  • What is the cheapest month to fly from California to Illinois?

    The cheapest month for flights from California to Illinois is October, when tickets cost $184 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and March, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $285 and $258 respectively.

  • How far in advance should I book a flight from California to Illinois?

    To get a below average price on the flight from California to Illinois, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 32% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 5 weeks before departure.

  • How many cities have direct flights to Illinois?

    From California, there are direct flights to Illinois from 13 cities. The city with the most direct flights is Los Angeles, with 1,000 direct flights each week.

  • How many direct flights to Illinois are there each day?

    There are around 367 direct flights from within California to Illinois every day. Most flights (54%) depart in the morning.

  • How many direct flights to Illinois are there each week?

    Each week there are around 2,567 direct flights from within California to Illinois. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 15% of flights taking off on this day.

  • How long is the flight to Illinois?

    An average nonstop flight from California to Illinois takes 4h 55m, covering a distance of 1705 miles. The shortest route is Las Vegas (LAS) to St. Louis (STL) with an average flight time of 3h 00m.

  • How many long-haul flights are there to Illinois each week?

    Each week, there are 2,513 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration) and 54 short-haul flights (up to 3 hour flight duration) to Illinois. There aren't any long-haul flights (6-12 hour flight duration).

  • What are the most popular destinations in Illinois?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Chicago (91% of total searches to Illinois). The next most popular destinations are St. Louis (8%) and Peoria (1%). Searches for flights to Moline (0%), to Evansville (0%) and to Paducah (0%) are also popular.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from California to Illinois

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from California to Illinois? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.9
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 12521 reviews
7.8Comfort
7.1Food
8.1Boarding
8.5Crew
7.0Entertainment
Airline reviews

It was a very short flight so there really wasn’t any entertainment my. The little pretzels were good though and the cabin crew was awesome.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Jun 2026
LAX - EUG
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

It was a very short flight so there really wasn’t any entertainment my. The little pretzels were good though and the cabin crew was awesome.

The first flight was fine, great crew, but the plane was delayed 45 minutes to go to Seattle because of they were missing a ramp. That would make sense if the plane was actually at the gate. Not if we’re still waiting for a plane. After we landed we waited 30-45 minutes on the tarmac just to get off the plane. Alaska made me miss my connecting flight, wasting my time, and my money. I should honestly be reimbursed, but hey, when does the airline ever actually take accountability? Never.

Over all it was great. My original flight was canceled but they quickly rebooked me. I was frustrated because I had to cancel my entire plans for the day but all considered, not bad. The crew tried to keep us calm while we sat in the plane for was felt was an hour or so but they could use a bit of a script. The seats were comfortable and I would give it another try.

Flight delayed Didn’t send second leg of trip itemerary First class was fair, but not great.

Short trip, was nice to have a drink on the short flight still.

The flight kept getting delayed due to a maintenance issue. That happens, but there is no excuse for changing the gate FIVE TIMES, including one time nearly all the way across SeaTac. After we were delayed for 3+ hours, they did send us (via email) a $12 meal voucher...except you can't find a $12 meal anywhere in that airport, unless you consider a bag of M&M's and a bottle of water a meal. The plane had one problem after another but finally took off 4.5 hours late. This caused us to miss our hotel shuttle at ORD (they didn't run past midnight and it was 3 am) so we had to wait 25 minutes and pay for an Uber. I did get a $50 flight voucher from Alaska...big deal. Barely covers my Uber ride that I shouldn't have needed.

Not able to get boarding pass for domestic connection flight when check in at international airport. I was told I need to get connection flight boarding pass after I entered US. It us very inconvenient.

It was good. Too long for older people. Service and support was great! Friendly crew!

Wish there were more complimentary drinks available - only had water and apple juice. Also - no snacks were provided during the flight, but we were offered some items as we exited the plane.

No negatives. Crew was great, flight was on time and there were no crazy passengers. 🤩

Was fine, delayed and feels like southwest is always late

The flight was smooth. The Southwest experience has degraded overall, but this one was okay.

The checking experience in Orlando was terrible, almost missed the flight. Too many travelers and Southwest completely understaffed.

The entire experience from boarding to landing was amazing! The crew were very friendly. Will definitely be back.

no service at all due to turbulence. they should've at least given us snacks, there were only 10 people on the entire flight.

Delayed flight, lack of information, boarding process is a mess as is the carryon luggage causing issues when leaving the plane….just a poor experience.

Comfortable. Easy. No problems. Just wish they had gf options for snacks.

The crew was very kind and made going to Hawaii relaxing and fun to look forward to! Thank you Southwest for a pleasant flight!

For the first time in a long time, the Wi-Fi actually worked the entire flight! The flight crew was amazing as usual.

Great flight. I didn't get a drink because I was asleep whole on the flight.

Over 5 hour delay with minimal updates or ability to standby for alternative flights. During boarding and 1 hr+ wait for takeoff, seats were drenched w water from air conditioning condensation and always leftover crumbs on carpet and seats

Boarded early, left early, arrived 40 mins early! A win win for me!

These airplanes should be illegal. The seats are two tight, it is a safety issue. Wheelchair support was ridiculously slow. We almost missed our flight.

This flight is a quick way to get to Chicago, but a bit expensive.

O’hsre taxi and deboarding took 40 minutes. Needed 20 minutes extra time between connecting flights to avoid running through terminal.

Standard flight with a drinks and a snack- overall very quick flight. The flight attendants were very strict, bordered on rude.

Delayed - weather wasn't bad at either end. Also sat on tarmac in ORD.

boarded early to only find out that flight would sit at gate for 45 min to an hour. Landed in chicago and sat on runway for over an hour before got to gate. Total delay was extensive for a 45 min flight door to door.

The flight was significantly delayed. The inbound flight from EWR was delayed departing because of mechanical problems. My original departure from CLT was 5:28 pm but due to the delay of the inbound flight, after arrival, deplaning, cleaning, boarding, we did not push back from the gate until 9:00 pm. Once in the air, the flight was smooth and what was originally supposed to be an arrival in ORD at 7:30 pm local time turned out to be 9:35 pm.

The flight I was supposed to be on was supposed to take off at 1:50 from State College. It was delayed over and over and over again until somehow I had to rebook on a flight that was supposed to have left State College at 8 am that morning but didn't end up taking off until almost 6 pm. Not only was this completely unacceptable, the "token from United" was a 15 dollar meal voucher that has to be used by today. I would personally like some miles added to my account for this inconvenience. I was in transit for 8 hours from the time I arrive at State College Aiport to when I got home. I was supposed to be home at 3 pm and I returned at 8 pm. Unacceptable. I have not been on an on Time united flight in nearly 5 years.

The flight attendants were extremely sourly and borderline rude. I did not feel appreciated as an AA customer once.

The flight from LA to Chicago was smooth and service was very good overall.

The Mario was so helpful and provided amazing customer service however l have being waiting for a callback for almost a week now and have not heard anything further after l informed them l wanted to change my date of traveling because of my hospital appointment even send them proof and l was unable to use manag your booking on their website is a bit frustrating and l would appreciate an update on My request as soon as possible. And have called them times without numbers no response

Awful, tons of delays, I got into Chicago multiple hours late meaning I hit the very traffic I tried so desperately to avoid. Just empty apologies from American Airlines text alerts. Trash behavior from a trash airline.

They lost my baggage and I am still struggling to the information and update

Requested early boarding to disinfect seat, tray table, etc. before general boarding. Instructed to board after wheelchair passengers. Waited on jet bridge behind 12 wheelchair passengers. Stopped immediately after entering plane to wait for gate agent in rear of plane cleaning a seat that was wet, got to my row and found both seats adjacent to mine already occupied, with the lack of room making it impossible for me to clean my own space and defeating the purpose of my boarding early. Cleaned the armrests and tray table as best I could.

The wifi experience is awful. I had to try again and again, taking over 30 minutes, to connect to the wifi. I had to watch the same two ads over and over until I was finally successful. Once connected, it was anything but "high speed" and disconnected at least three times during the flight.

It was good, the staff was great, and the food, was as usual, tea and biscuit. Bathroom was clean, and the plane was clean as well.

Very good I can’t complain one bit. Thank you American Airlines for making my flight enjoyable and safe!

The staff and service on American Airlines were truly outstanding. I had requested wheelchair assistance for my mother due to her knee issues, and the team went above and beyond every step of the way—from boarding in Boston to our arrival in Chicago. Their care, professionalism, and attentiveness made the entire experience smooth and stress-free. I’m very grateful for the support they provided.

Flight was scheduled at 9:40pm. Got delayed to 10 am, the next day. crazy

The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve

They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked

Remind customers of the need to have passport or new ID for boarding.

The flight never took off and we spent 7 hours at the airport

Good for a budget airline! It was easy to get on, staff was really nice. Can’t say anything about the food or entertainment because it wasn’t available, which is fine.

It was ok. It was expensive to check 2 bags ($75.00 per bag), and then it took a long time to wait for shuttle to take us from one terminal to the terminal where the plane was taking off at LAX. And all of this for a flight where we had to pay for any food or drink that was not water.

This company socks. It's fraud. They canceled our flight yesterday, and today we were late because of a really long line at the check in bag. At the rebook station, there was ton of people. The workers were all rude. I am gonna make a report to FTC.

When I wanted to check in 3 hours prior to boarding time, the employees mentioned “a little over an hour delay” so I waited for an hour then I went to go look for food in the terminal and most people from that flight were in the same area looking for food. Finally I decided after food to check to see if it’s anytime closer and now it’s 2 mins until boarding closes?! What are you kidding me? I didn’t receive anything via sms about boarding now nor via email or on the intercom. I luckily made it through, barely, and then there’s no room for my carry on mind you I’m in the very first row so I had to place my purse in one further row back and my carry on sections down. Not sure who pays for better seats to get your stuff placed all over the plane but that was the worst experience I’ve ever had flying with anyone.

The single worst check in experience I could imagine. I’ll never do any business with Frontier or any affiliated company

Everything you need to know for your flight to Illinois

Cabin class types available on flights to California

Cabin classes available on flights to California. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.