$86 Find Cheap Flights from California to Illinois

1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$86
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 5% lower on average.
Flight from San Jose 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 
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 (237 flights per week), Air Canada (201 flights per week), and American Airlines (188 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 91% 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 $270.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to Illinois?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Illinois is Thursday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $357. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $435 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 $280 on average. Morning departures are around 42% 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 $458.

  • What is the cheapest flight to Illinois?

    The cheapest ticket to Illinois from California found in the last 72 hours was to Chicago Midway Airport, at $158 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 72 hours was $158.

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

    The cheapest month for flights from California to Illinois is April, when tickets cost $437 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are November and February, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $840 and $763 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 35% 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 11 cities. The city with the most direct flights is Los Angeles, with 783 direct flights each week.

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

    There are around 273 direct flights from within California to Illinois every day. Most flights (51%) depart in the morning.

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

    Each week there are around 1,907 direct flights from within California to Illinois. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 16% of flights taking off on this day.

  • How long is the flight to Illinois?

    An average nonstop flight from California to Illinois takes 4h 47m, covering a distance of 1703 miles. The shortest route is Las Vegas (LAS) to St. Louis (STL) with an average flight time of 3h 05m.

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

    Each week, there are 1,696 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration) and 211 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 Moline (1%). Searches for flights to Peoria (0%), to Bloomington (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.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4318 reviews
8.1Boarding
7.5Entertainment
8.6Crew
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
Airline reviews

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

8.0 ExcellentTobin, Mar 2026
SJC - BUR
Read more Southwest reviews

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

Good but I prefer choose your own seat. With the new assigned seats they should board from the back I see no advantage to this new boarding. Just like every other airline

WiFi was not working and didn’t have a beverage service

Flight boarded late after announcing on time boarding. Flight arrived only a little late despite late departure. Had trouble connecting to WiFi

The Southwest experience has definitely taken a dive from its early days. You can no longer deferentiate from other airlines. Air travel is too expensive. Southwest is no longer budget friendly. They have lost me as a loyal customer.

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

The seats are now more narrow. I paid for front row the seats in the front are even more narrow than before.

The wifi on the plane is great. The only issue that I have is that I prefer an aisle seat and on my trips this week, I was either in the middle or window. If we can work to secure aisle seating, I will be thrilled. Nice trip.

All good except once again bags took an hour at Midway Airport Happens all the time. Ridiculous

Great flight but super high price. Glad it was a business trip and not personal

Wonderful. Quick boarding. Early departure and we arrived 30 minutes early at our destination. Unfortunately, when you arrive early, there is still a departing aircraft at our gate. We had to park for 30 minutes until the gate was clear. So our early arrival was not really early at the gate. Otherwise it was a quick and smooth flight. Appreciated the efficiency.

Crew was great (professional, attentive, prompt). Snacks for 4 hrs flight is deplorable.

United Airlines is my preferred airlines and I am thankful for Gary who also help support me on the phone to switch my flight literally last min.

Seated dude next to me even though lots of empty rows. But main thing was we sat on the tarmac after landing for 30 minutes because of, in the words of the dude who sat next to me, “operational incompetence”. We got changing directions about where to pick up gate checked bags. Pilot and flight attendant were awesome though.

It was a pretty standard flight... until the almost hour and a half spent on the taxi way. I get that the weather has been poor but the delay had nothing to do with the weather and more to do with a plane with several issues tying up the gate. I get that that happens from time to time but this has been EVERY flight I've been on for the past 5 years and I fly 3 to 5 times a year. This isn't just United... it's American, it's Delta. It's an issue with the entire industry. I work for UPS and packages on a cargo plane get better service than people do these days. Anymore I HATE flying.

Perfect flight. Smooth flight. Arrived 20 minutes early at destination. Excellent service.

The flights were on time which was great give. It was holiday travel season and there’d been some weather issues. The only complaint and this is every time with United is the terrible seat design. The head rest is not built for comfort and having my neck bent forward for a cross country trip reminded me while I try not to take United flights as a rule.

Everything was absolutely wonderful from check in to baggage claim. Staff was very professional and sweet. Will definitely recommend United to family and friends.

They did the one thing that really matters - got to Chicago early.

The flight was on time. I generally don’t drink or eat on short flights and the seats were good and the flight attendants were friendly. That’s all I expect

There was no inflight service. Once we landed we were delayed to find a gate for an hour and a half which was 1/2 the total time in the air.

The chicken wrap was tiny ($13 for what looked like a 1/3 of a normal wrap?) and disgusting.

It was good experience this time. The flight was on time.

There was a delay with the plan which cause the flight to leave later and once arrived in Chicago there was another delay and some passengers missed their connecting flights

The gate agent had a really bad attitude and refused to help me get on the standby list. She just handed me a card and said I needed to call a number. I asked her to help with the AA app on my phone and she just shrugged and said she didnt know. After a few phone calls, I eventually just went to a different gate agent on the other side of the terminal and got the help I needed.

Overall, my last three trips on American Airlines have all been either delayed or "rescheduled" due to mechanical issues. At least on delay caused me to miss two possible connecting flights each later than the first. My last option for my last connection required the assistance of the onsite service desk (O'Hare Airport). The wait time for the service desk was such that it jeopardized getting booked on the last connecting flight available for the night. Suffice it to say, my latest experiences with American Airlines have caused me extensive loss of productive business and personal time and can therefore be classified as significantly less than satisfactory.

Waiting for gate in RDU for more than 20mins is crazy.

American Airlines was great and worked very hard to change my ticket so I could get an earlier, direct flight back to Dallas. However, I was informed that Kayak made mistakes with my itinerary and classified my ticket as desiring to be on the earlier flight instead of taking the necessary step of calling AA to get me on the standby list. This ended up keeping me from being added to the standby list and delayed me getting home by 6 hours. I am happy to discuss this further with Kayak so they can correct their procedures so this won't happen again.

Waited for oxygen tanks for 30 minutes after boarding was complete.

We flew in first class. The crew did not offer drinks before the flight took off, but they treated us well during the flight. The food was excellent. There was actually too much food served, but it was nice to have all the options.

For a change, friendly staff at check-in and in flight.

Delayed both in takeoff and landing, trash plane no amenities, I've said it before but I'll never fly Spirit again.

My flight was delayed by over an hour and the turbulance was horrible.

It’s was a cheap flight and they got us there safely. It’s just their whole business model that make the experience “meh.” They make you paranoid about whether your personal item is too big. They make you paranoid about being crammed into a middle seat at the back of the plane. They purposely cram people together leaving multiple rows completely empty and even after the door closes the FA’s announce that everyone has to sit in their assigned seat. We knew what we were buying and in that regard we got a cheap and safe flight but it felt like they do their best to take any enjoyment out of the experience. That’s all on management, not the crew.

The flight was delayed for unknown reasons while other airlines weren’t. It was very frustrating.

Everything was good. On time, boarding fast, flight attendants friendly.

Spirit has always and will always stink. Absolute worst airline around.

Not seat assigned because overbooking. We could go because some people decided to give their seats.

The flights were very uncomfortable the seats don't have much leg room at all and they are pretty hard as well.

spirit delayed my first flight 9 hours and then cancelled my flight back home. Very disappointed with their service.

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

Too many extra fees, uncomfortable, little leg room. Will not recommend this airline.

This airline sucks. They offer low rates then charge you for everything, the app does not work well, the seats are the most uncomfortable. Maintenance issues on the flight, and you still have to sit through their credit card commercials. People are nice enough but does not make up for overall poor experience.

Severe turbulence. Captain never came on to reassure passengers after things settled down.

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.