$59 Find Cheap Flights from California to Illinois

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1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$59
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 1% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 6% 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 
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 Air Canada (201 flights per week), United Airlines (200 flights per week), and American Airlines (139 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 $258.

  • 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 $356. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $431 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 $274 on average. Morning departures are around 45% 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 $450.

  • 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 $157 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 $157.

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

    The cheapest month for flights from California to Illinois is February, when tickets cost $419 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are November and January, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $840 and $597 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 29% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 24 weeks before departure.

  • How many cities have direct flights to Illinois?

    From California, there are direct flights to Illinois from 10 cities. The city with the most direct flights is Los Angeles, with 681 direct flights each week.

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

    There are around 239 direct flights from within California to Illinois every day. Most flights (60%) depart in the morning.

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

    Each week there are around 1,671 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 35m, covering a distance of 1692 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 1,571 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration) and 100 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 (90% of total searches to Illinois). The next most popular destinations are St. Louis (8%) and Peoria (1%). Searches for flights to Moline (1%), to Bloomington (0%) and to Decatur (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 4268 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
7.0Food
Airline reviews

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

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Jan 2026
PHX - MDW
Read more Southwest reviews

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

The seats were comfortable, and the boarding process was pretty smooth.

3 hour delay. Had to change plans and was still delayed.

We got exit row seats both flights. Everything was running on time

The boarding and seat assignment system no longer works for me, but I know it is being replaced. Otherwise, I am good with the overall experience.

The lead steward kept singing about "San Francisco" and hotel California---more annoying than humorous....needs work. Flight was smooth and on time.

San Diego airport is brand new, spacious, airy and very smooth checkin at SW baggage drop.

It was rough. The staff was unprofessional, the choice of on board drinks terrible, it was cramped in space at every airport, they always ran out of overhead bin space so they pressured people to check bags for free or we couldn’t leave on the plane— so I did check my bag to help, and they nearly lost my bag. My bag did not arrive on the luggage belt, another man on my flight and I had to waste our time going to the baggage office to search for our bags. I would only fly southwest again if it was my last choice. Also, my flights were consistently delayed over and over again— at one point they straight up told us we were waiting for the pilot to arrive.

Crew could have been friendlier, maybe I'm spoiled by SW crews. In flight wifi was good. Would be nice to have more food offerings on a 4 plus hour flight

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

It was nice to have gotten up upgraded to first class with a meal on a three hour flight

Very bad! They kept delaying my flight and wouldn’t do anything about it

Door to door, the crew and staff were amazing. It was a stressful travel day with delays, but they were focused on customers and doing what they could to get us to our destinations.

Pilot navigated severe weather/snow storm with skill. Described his intentions clearly

Little warm on the plane and delayed for an hour

So excited very proud first of all I wanna thank kayak all updates very professional and fast alart And amazing cabin crew so nice to me they deserve big salute

The boarding process needs to be fixed. The zone don't work, especially when there is hardly anyone in zones 3, 4,and 5, leaving the majority of the passengers backed up in the aisle, especially because passengers seated near the front are blocking passengers who are seated in the rear of the plane. It would also help if the size of carry on bags was more strictly enforced.

Awful. They won’t help me with anything. I booked on American but they abdicated to Iberia. The ticket was overpriced. Everything negative

I enjoyed the extra leg room compared to other airlines. The first stewards made my daughter’s birthday special by giving her an extra snack. Then the last one coming home from Chicago to Appleton made our night really enjoyable Thanks for making our trip enjoyable

It was good..clean, comfy seat. Friendly warm welcoming crew. Was able to check my cabin luggage at the gate which I was able to pickup in a decent time from baggage claim. The app gave all updates from delays to baggage claim info. Overall smooth flight.

It was a typical flight. We had a delay which seems to be the normality now. And we had no in flight service due to conditions.

After we landed we sat on the tarmac for 1.5 hours waiting to get to our gate. Ridiculous.

Terrible. Flight delayed for more than 8 hours with only a $12 meal voucher provided for the inconvenience. The airplane did not have breaks on arrival yet they still made us go through the motions and board on time knowing we could not take off then sit for 40+ minutes before having to get of the time. A complete waste of my time. I cannot believe they can stay business with these shenanigans. I’ll avoid this company like the plague moving forward as the lack of accountability is disgraceful.

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

For the price of the fare, there really isn’t much to complain about.

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.

A Spirit agent caused me to miss my flight. The company has not responded for request of refund. Stay away from Spirit.

Late taking off. ATC sent us circling around Chicago for almost an hour, after landing taxied for 40 minutes.

I arrived two hours early, and at 9:20 I was still queuing for security.

I waited for 4+ extra hours to even board when i was fighting off a cold. So i was sitting there in the airport with a fever and chills while spirit wasted my time. Then once on the plane we had at least an extra hour of taxiing before and after takeoff. Really poor airline, no amenities to speak of, and a lack of organization that will just ruin your experience.

Got to LAX at 3:20 am, the counter personnel did not start to check in bags till 3:40 am. I patiently waited at the priority check in line as they started to take people from the general line. After about 15 minutes of waiting, I approached the lady exactly in front of the priority line and asked her if they would be taking people from the priority line or if I would need to switch to waiting in the general line. She responded “yes”, I then asked her yes to what? And she yelled back at me loudly “I SAID YES!” Needless to say, I waited at the end of the line of the general line. I could have been told the priority line would not be called upon and could have queued in the general line ahead of many people that arrived to cue after I did

Terrible. They cancelled the flight at the last minute after I had checked in at the airport and then told me they could only put me on a flight after 7 days. Pathetic.

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.

We were delayed three times ,and that destroyed my plans, and reservations

Cancelled flight after I arrived at airport after 75 min drive and parking. Next flight was 4 days in the future. Had to scramble and buy a much more expensive flight on another carrier.

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.