$44 Find Cheap Flights from California to Illinois

1 adult

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Illinois

Travelers love KAYAK
41,299,237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

Save 22% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Bundle and saveSave money when you bundle your flight + hotel.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

Useful Info
Useful Info

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
High seasonMay
Cheapest flight$44
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 2% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 10% lower on average.
Flight from Los Angeles 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 
DinaFlew with United AirlinesSFO-ORDDec 2024
Choose an airline that will accommodate your needs
RodFlew with United AirlinesSAN-ORDSep 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.
GeraldFlew with Alaska AirlinesSFO-ORDOct 2024
Book a flight as early in the day as possible to avoid incoming flight delays.
DonFlew with American AirlinesSFO-ORDJun 2024
United offers the best service from SFO to ORD. Great capacity and several redundant flights in the event of a cancellation or delay.
ShirleyFlew with United AirlinesLAX-ORDMay 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 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 O'Hare Intl Airport (ORD), with an average flight price of $229.

  • 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 $372. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $481 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 $308 on average. Morning departures are around 35% 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 $464.

  • 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 $152 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 $152.

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

    The cheapest month for flights from California to Illinois is September, when tickets cost $203 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and May, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $508 and $429 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. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 4 weeks before departure.

  • How long is the flight to Illinois?

    An average nonstop flight from California to Illinois takes 4h 48m, covering a distance of 1695 miles. The shortest route is Las Vegas (LAS) to St. Louis (STL) with an average flight time of 3h 05m.

  • 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 (7%) and Moline (1%). Searches for flights to Peoria (1%), to Evansville (0%) and to Springfield (0%) are also popular.

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 4294 reviews
8.2Boarding
7.1Food
8.0Comfort
7.6Entertainment
8.6Crew
Airline reviews

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Apr 2025LGB - SMF
Read more Southwest reviews

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

I liked the crew member who gave flight instructions on "in case of a problem:. The seats are so small that only a young teenager could sit in middle seat.

Great flight staff. Ease of boarding. Overall, very uneventful and easy trip.

Flight was awfully bumpy and landing was a bit jolting. I was in the restroom when snacks and drinks were served and was not asked if i wanted any. I had to ask for water finally.

Employees were kind and funny, as always! Flight was late but no announcements were made for people with tight connections to help them transition quickly. No service due to turbulence.

I recently flew Southwest from San Jose to Honolulu. I was very impressed with the flight crew, especially the flight attendant in charge of the front of the plane. She came through the aisle at least five times for drinks and water, and two times for snacks. I have not seen such service since I flew first class. Also, for the first time, they gave us the correct baggage claim number, and the luggage came out quickly. I can't wait for Southwest to have assigned seating! I absolutely hate the Cattle Call boarding procedure and the mad dash to get seats and overhead bins. However, the boarding was efficient.

We had a nice flight. Boarding was easy, our seats were comfortable and the on board service was pleasant.

Service was great, boarding and exiting went smoothly, and the flight was very pleasant.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a not a great airport.

Smooth flight. Boarding was chaotic. Could not hear the gate agent over the intercom. People were lined up in the wrong lines. Groups one and two were told to board through line one and group 3 through line 2. All very confusing. Once in the air, the flight was smooth. There was no entertainment option on this aircraft, even though it was a larger aircraft.

Overall poor for me I paid extra for seats with leg room and my regional flights exit row seats have less leg room then the others that's money that could have been saved and on my final flight home the flights air was not operating it was unbearably hot in the cabin I will be contacting United and filing a DOT complaint

There's just no way to sit fully upright and comfortably in these seats. There needs to be 2 more inches of room, and that's not something that only one person on the flight needs - the whole flight needs 2 more inches of room. If that means you sell 6 less seats, so be it. It's too close for anyone. Forcing people to pay for "premium" economy just to get "barely enough space to breathe" isn't really an answer to that.

The crew were very nice. The Chocolate is good and v there’s no entertainment. Thanks

The crew were very nice. I would have appreciated a pillow for comfort. I had a special meal that was sloppy, but the salad was great. Thanks

The plane was in Moline all night. Consequently, we assumed an on time departure at 8:15am. Unfortunately, and as is the normal case with United in Moline, we departed 2.5 hours late. When the crew came, it was discovered that there was very little heat in the plane. Seems this should have been checked hours before the crew arrived. Then when we boarded and the plane was to be de-iced, the United de-icing truck was not working! We awaited the American Airlines truck. All of this caused us to miss our connection in Chicago. My suggestion is never take United Airlines flight from Moline. We have been disappointed 80% of the time and have vowed to not take United again from Moline.

Flight was delayed two hours. No snacks and no tv screens. My bag got stuck in Chicago

The aircrew was solid, the flight was chill, I had no issues. The gate agent was not the best. I was trying to use a military bag upgrade to move my bag from under the seat to the overhead bins and he told me there’s no overhead bins on the plane, argued with me why booking put a military member in basic economy (I don’t really understand this) and made it an issue to even try to help me stating I’d have to call reservations to get a bag upgrade. When every other agent with United can add it at the gate, this man couldn’t be bothered.

They canceled our flight and left us stranded to figure it out

Everything was very good. Was able to change a make run flight leaving on direct earlier in the app -seamless!!! Well done

To start, I’d like to say that every American Airline personnel I interacted with on the ground, especially flight crew, was very friendly and did their best to help me out. Despite this, however, my experience with the airline was an entire mess. The 7:19 PM flight was heavily delayed due to weather, and pushed to 10:30 AM the next morning. Because of this, I had to spend the night inside of the airport. At some point later in the night, I got an email saying that the flight had been canceled. I called the support number, and the representative on the other line told me that the flight was still on and that I didn’t need to rebook. The next morning, no one came to the gate to open the door for the crew until almost 11 AM. By this time the flight crew had been waiting for over an hour, and they had called management to get someone to open the door for them multiple times. Around 11:30, the gate screen had changed to a different flight. I ended up buying a last minute ticket with Southwest airline just to get to Chicago, because the next flight with American wasn’t until 7:19 pm that day. Now, earlier that morning my suitcase had been sent ahead of me to ORD. I went to baggage claim to ask them if I could have my suitcase forwarded to where I was staying. The representative at SDF baggage claim said they could and put the claim in for me. As I was going back through TSA, I got an email that the airline had found my suitcase, but the next step was to send it BACK to SDF. I called the airline support number again, and I made it clear that my suitcase needed to stay in Chicago and to not come back to SDF. The representative told me that they would hold my suitcase at ORD and that it wasn’t going to be forwarded anywhere. Once I got there, I found that they had loaded my suitcase onto a plane to send it back to SDF. Thankfully, I had gotten to the baggage claim counter in time for them to put in a request to bring my suitcase back up. My refund with the airline is processing already, but because of this entire experience and miscommunication at every turn of the way, I will not book with American Airlines in the future.

The plane was late and then sat on the runway for almost 45 minutes before taking off.

Crew professional. Easy bag drop off. On time. Good entertainment.

Everything was great. Boarding, early departure, early arrival, and deplaning were smooth. Smooth flight.

Per usual, flight status, staff courtesy and professionalism were excellent

Everything was on time, we arrived early, everything worked well.

The only thing is if Wi-Fi is available after you land and taxi to the gate. It takes forever to get to the gate, and having the Wi-Fi continue would be great to bide the time at least 5 minutes before you arrive at the entrance. That is my only comment; otherwise, everything was good.

Had to wait on pilot and crew to depart and had to wait to arrive at the gate because they only had 2 crews working. Delays, delays....Planes just keep getting smaller and tighter and they nickle and dime for everything. When will an airline actually wake up and make flying more enjoyable?

Seating was horrible. Small seats. Access to flight information and extras very iser unfriendly. Kept losing internet after paying for it. Staff in madison was as unprofessional and unhelpful.

Delayed due to no crew. On a major holiday travel day.

I mean, it’s Spirit. But it was frustrating to have our flight canceled, get bumped to a later flight, and then Spirit was unwilling to check our bag until 4 hours before our flight… tell us we could not sit in the waiting area’s chairs… and really negative experience getting checked in and dropping the bag.

Not having it be changed after we bought the flight tickets from a direct flight getting in at a reasonable time to a connecting flight red eye of 9 hours, so that we would lose our 35 dollars in nonrefundable insurance would've been great! Our country really does need low-cost carrier options, but this type of "service" ain't it. Fortunately, had a little better success with them flying to and from San Juan PR last month at least.

terrible service, no room for a dog underfoot, a broken chair that is impossible to sit on and all this costs a lot of money

It was fast but uncomfortable seats. Had to pay a bit extra not sure why? Maybe in selection of all my 4 tix together ? Just knew I had a balance before getting boarding pass online when departing from satx ? And flight was delayed..

Last minute 2-3 hr delay in flight schedule; no explanation Unexpected extra $52 charge What's the benefit of choosing a cheap airline if you trick people last minute and force them to pay extra last minute? Did not appreciate being cornered.

Seats are uncomfortable and too close together. Also, you missed my connection in Vegas on the way back and I ended up sleeping in the airport, flying back to Burbank instead of LAX and I got home 12 hours late.

Surprising everything went well. Nice attendants and fast getting on and off the plane. Overall, was happy with the experience.

Terrible-extreme delay with very little communication, plane was overfull, luggage was returned on baggage claim in filthy condition.

Non-professional acting crew, Very uncomfortable seats…!! Very bad pricing with all the add-ons for seat choice, luggage fees, etc….soon you’ll charge extra for oxygen. The ticket price means Nothing because in the end, the actual amount i paid, i could have and will in the future continue to fly on a real airline…

With this price, I shouldn't complain on anything. I understand I have to pay for every services they provide. The plane could smell a little better. Advise them to use frebeeze to freshen up the interior a little bit.

The seats were awful, hard plastic covered in sheet vinyl. The airline tries to scam you into paying extra to get seat together when the flight wasn’t full. They were going to separate a family with young children but my wife who had a row to herself gave up her seat so the young mom could be with her young boys. I’m never giving this airline my money again.

It was a short flight so no food or entertainment….

Frontier had yet another flight cancellation. Have never made a complete round trip with this airline without at least one leg getting cancelled. Miserable flights - dirty, uncomfortable planes that apparently always have issues since I've had multiple delays and cancellations with them.

Flight was delayed 3 times, would have been nice to have received text message instead of email notifications. Frontier app wasn’t even updated accordingly, no gate number disclosed. No agent at front desk of gate to inform of delay. Very confused and left if the dark

The flight itself was ok and the pilot was very communicative. However, our flight was delayed for almost 3 hours, the gate was changed 3 times and there was no communication as we were waiting. The flight staff was overall a little crabby...I understand as they probably had a long day but we all did.

They changed the timing , first delayed by 4 hours then went back to 40 mins late, we had to run back to airport to not miss our flight. This is ridiculous

No frills for sure. No gate announcements about flight delay, not even water to drink on the flight.

After waiting several minutes to be acknowledged by 3 employees on their phones, was told we had missed our flight because the doors were closed at that literal moment. Had they given any actual service or help while we were standing there we would have been on with time to spare. More than 10 people were turned away in this fashion claiming there was no way they could let us on the plane, even though it was still sitting connected to the terminal. After the desk agents let us know they didn't care about the situation we were forced to pay more than twice the price of our original tickets as no credits were given for the price of the "missed" flight. And the icing on the cake was after being treated poorly, fleeced for another few hundred dollars for new tickets? We waited on the next plane for 25 minutes passed the "doors closed" time, letting almost an extra dozen passengers on board. You're company has lazy, disinterested employees and your lack of any real help will ensure this was the first and last time we fly Frontier. Awful.

I loked walking out on the tarmac to board and no first class. I didn't like that they have no snacks or onboard wifi to bide your time.

It was a redeye flight, so every passenger just wanted to sleep, but through the entire flight, the flight crew made announcements over the loudspeaker at maximum volume every few minutes making sleep impossible. For example: it’s 2am, and the crew decides to give an extremely detailed announcement about snacks and beverages for sale. And 3am is the perfect time to wake up everyone with a lengthy announcement about how to get a coffee refill and how to take advantage of new offer from frontier for a credit card.

Book cheap flights from California to Illinois

Recent round-trip flight deals

5/29Thu
1 stopSpirit Airlines
9h 42mSAN-ORD
6/2Mon
1 stopSpirit Airlines
12h 11mORD-SAN
$83
5/29Thu
1 stopSpirit Airlines
8h 27mSAN-ORD
6/2Mon
1 stopSpirit Airlines
12h 11mORD-SAN
$88
5/24Sat
nonstopFrontier
4h 19mLAX-ORD
5/27Tue
nonstopFrontier
4h 34mORD-LAX
$110
5/23Fri
nonstopFrontier
4h 19mLAX-ORD
5/24Sat
nonstopFrontier
4h 34mORD-LAX
$117
5/12Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 25mSFO-ORD
5/14Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 50mORD-SFO
$179
5/27Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 19mSFO-ORD
6/3Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 42mORD-SFO
$188
6/10Tue
1 stopSouthwest
7h 15mSFO-MDW
6/28Sat
1 stopSouthwest
6h 10mMDW-SFO
$216
6/3Tue
1 stopSouthwest
8h 45mSFO-MDW
6/5Thu
nonstopSouthwest
4h 30mMDW-SFO
$217
7/15Tue
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 12mLAX-ORD
7/20Sun
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 12mORD-LAX
$225
7/23Wed
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 12mLAX-ORD
7/31Thu
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 11mORD-LAX
$229

Search by stops

Search by airline

Search by price

Recent one-way flight deals

5/20Tue
nonstopSpirit Airlines
4h 01mLAX-ORD
$44
5/28Wed
1 stopSpirit Airlines
7h 27mSNA-ORD
$45
5/30Fri
nonstopFrontier
4h 19mLAX-ORD
$59
6/14Sat
nonstopFrontier
4h 19mLAX-ORD
$62
5/30Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 20mSFO-ORD
$90
7/26Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 23mSFO-ORD
$99
5/20Tue
nonstopSouthwest
4h 05mLAX-MDW
$100
5/30Fri
1 stopSouthwest
5h 55mOAK-ORD
$100
5/27Tue
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 23mSFO-ORD
$102
7/8Tue
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 12mLAX-ORD
$111

Search by stops

Search by airline

Search by price

Last minute flights from California to Illinois

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

5/2Fri
multi-stopFrontier
8h 24mLAX-ORD
5/24Sat
nonstopFrontier
4h 34mORD-LAX
$152
5/2Fri
multi-stopFrontier
8h 24mLAX-ORD
5/5Mon
multi-stopFrontier
11h 00mORD-LAX
$179
5/5Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 20mSFO-ORD
5/7Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 50mORD-SFO
$179
5/5Mon
nonstopSpirit Airlines
4h 05mLAX-ORD
5/10Sat
nonstopSpirit Airlines
4h 31mORD-LAX
$254
5/5Mon
multi-stopSpirit Airlines
10h 55mLAX-ORD
5/10Sat
multi-stopSpirit Airlines
16h 16mORD-LAX
$266
5/5Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 20mSFO-ORD
5/10Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 51mORD-SFO
$269
5/5Mon
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 10mSFO-ORD
5/20Tue
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 56mORD-SFO
$309
5/5Mon
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 10mSFO-ORD
5/21Wed
nonstopAmerican Airlines
4h 49mORD-SFO
$329
5/5Mon
multi-stopSouthwest
6h 20mSFO-MDW
5/9Fri
nonstopSouthwest
4h 30mMDW-SFO
$391
5/1Thu
nonstopSouthwest
4h 05mSFO-MDW
5/31Sat
multi-stopSouthwest
6h 20mMDW-SFO
$409

Search by stops

Search by airline

Search by price

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.

Not what you’re looking for? Find thousands of other hotels, flights, car rentals and package deals with KAYAK.