$661 Find Cheap Flights from Chicago to South Africa - Compare and Save

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Chicago to South Africa departing on 11/3. 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

Save 20% or more on flights. Compare deals from all over the web.

Never overpay with our price tracking tools.

Filter searches by price, airline and more to find your best flights.

Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Flight Deals

Book Cheap Chicago to South Africa Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Chicago to South Africa that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Chicago to South Africa

Sun, Aug 23 - Tue, Sep 8
Turkish Airlines Logo
11:25 am - 11:50 am
ORD
-
CPT
41h 25m
1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
4:35 pm - 9:40 am
CPT
-
ORD
24h 05m
1 stop
$1,096Turkish Airlines
Sun, Aug 23 - Tue, Sep 8
Turkish Airlines Logo
11:25 am - 11:50 am
ORD
-
CPT
41h 25m
1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
4:35 pm - 9:40 am
CPT
-
ORD
24h 05m
1 stop
$1,104Turkish Airlines
Mon, Sep 21 - Wed, Sep 30
Qatar Airways Logo
7:20 pm - 10:35 am
ORD
-
DUR
32h 15m
2 stops
Qatar Airways Logo
12:05 pm - 3:05 pm
DUR
-
ORD
34h 00m
2 stops
$1,280Qatar Airways
Mon, Sep 21 - Wed, Sep 30
Qatar Airways Logo
7:20 pm - 10:35 am
ORD
-
DUR
32h 15m
2 stops
Qatar Airways Logo
12:05 pm - 3:05 pm
DUR
-
ORD
34h 00m
2 stops
$1,281Qatar Airways
Thu, Aug 13 - Sat, Aug 22
Ethiopian Air Logo
10:15 am - 8:10 pm
ORD
-
JNB
26h 55m
1 stop
Ethiopian Air Logo
8:20 am - 8:15 am
JNB
-
ORD
30h 55m
2 stops
$1,310Ethiopian Air
Fri, Aug 21 - Mon, Aug 31
Ethiopian Air Logo
10:15 am - 8:10 pm
ORD
-
JNB
26h 55m
1 stop
Ethiopian Air Logo
8:20 am - 8:15 am
JNB
-
ORD
30h 55m
2 stops
$1,311Ethiopian Air
Thu, Sep 10 - Sat, Mar 6
Kenya Airways Logo
6:00 am - 3:50 pm
ORD
-
JNB
26h 50m
2 stops
Kenya Airways Logo
5:00 pm - 11:25 am
JNB
-
ORD
26h 25m
2 stops
$1,320Kenya Airways
Sat, Aug 22 - Wed, Sep 2
Kenya Airways Logo
6:00 am - 12:15 am
ORD
-
JNB
35h 15m
2 stops
Kenya Airways Logo
1:15 am - 4:17 pm
JNB
-
ORD
46h 02m
2 stops
$1,322Kenya Airways
Mon, Nov 9 - Thu, Nov 26
Delta Logo
1:05 pm - 6:35 pm
MDW
-
CPT
21h 30m
1 stop
Delta Logo
8:50 pm - 9:52 am
CPT
-
MDW
21h 02m
1 stop
$1,826Delta
Mon, Nov 9 - Thu, Nov 26
Delta Logo
12:30 pm - 6:35 pm
MDW
-
CPT
22h 05m
2 stops
Delta Logo
8:50 pm - 9:52 am
CPT
-
MDW
21h 02m
1 stop
$1,830Delta
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Chicago to South Africa flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Chicago to South Africa to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Chicago to South Africa?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago to South Africa, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Chicago to South Africa is September, when tickets cost $543 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and October, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,052 and $954 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Chicago to South Africa?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago to South Africa, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Chicago to South Africa, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 17 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$661
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 4% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 33% increase in price.
Flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Johannesburg

FAQs - booking South Africa flights

  • What can I do at the Chicago Airports?

    You can rehydrate at the airport showers at ORD, which are open to all passengers. At Gates D, in the passenger area, there is a Transit Hotel that is open around the clock. Further, there are numerous places where people can get employment. In addition, there are those at the Service Center's parking lot 2 and the Family Services facility at Gates E. On the other hand, at MDW, you can visit the yoga room in Concourse C airside and stretch out your muscles before your trip.

  • Do Chicago airports have USO lounges?

    Military personnel flying out through MDW can use the USO lounge located in Concourse C. On the other hand, if you are flying through ORD, you will find the lounges in Terminals 2 and 3. USO lounges allow the US military and their families to access their services at no extra cost.

  • Can I have access to limited mobility services at South African Airports?

    Passengers with limited mobility arriving at any South African airport can access accessibility services to ease their navigation within the airport. The airports are equipped with elevators, and you can also get extra assistance upon request. However, if you want to access these services, ensure that you contact your airline 48 hours before your travel date.

  • Which airline is ideal when flying from Chicago to South Africa?

    There are multiple airlines offering exceptional flight services along Chicago South Africa route. However, these airlines offer different onboard services at different rates. For instance, Emirates offers inflight assorted meals and sleeping blankets. So, your choice of airline when flying to South Africa from Chicago depends on your budget and preferences.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Chicago to South Africa?

    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 Chicago to South Africa.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Chicago to South Africa 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 Chicago to South Africa?

    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 Chicago to South Africa 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 Chicago to South Africa?

    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 Chicago to South Africa up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to South Africa

  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is the primary airport serving Chicago. Therefore if you are flying from Chicago to South Africa, it is bound to be your departure airport. Alternatively, you can fly out through Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which also serves international flights in Chicago.
  • You have many options if you are looking for a parking space at any of the Chicago airports. At ORD, you can park at the long-term parking lot, the Economy Parking Lot F, which is located on MMF floors 4 and 5. If you want to park short-term, you can use the parking lots in Terminal 5. On the other hand, MDW has long-term parking lots near the main terminal, while the short-term parking lots are located in Terminal garage levels 2 and 6.
  • The primary South African Airport which serves major international flights is Oliver Tambo International Airport (JNB). From Chicago to South Africa, you can also land at Cape Town International Airport (CPT) and King Shaka International Airport (DUR).
  • When you land in any of the South African airports, it is possible to escape the commotion and clamor of the airport and take advantage of complimentary refreshments, snacks, and sitting in a more relaxed setting. There are many lounges at these airports; some are exclusive to particular airlines, and others are accessible to everyone.
  • When looking for a location to exercise after arriving in South Africa, you can make reservations at your arrival airport onsite hotel. Visitors are welcome to use the airport's onsite hotels' fitness and wellness facilities for their own delight.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Chicago to South Africa

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Chicago to South Africa? 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.
7.8
DeltaOverall score based on 8450 reviews
7.2Food
7.8Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.5Crew
7.8Comfort
Airline reviews

The crew was very inconsiderate and rude. My flight was scheduled to depart at 6:00am. I received a call from the crew at 5:40am, asking if I was going to make the flight because I was the only one that hasn't boarded yet and boarding ends at 5:50am. I let them know that I will be at the gate in a few minutes, before the 5:50am cutoff. When I arrived at the gate at 5:45am the gate was closed. Departing early on last minute notice without having all passengers on board is inconsiderate and unprofessional.

2.0 MediocreJean, Jun 2026
MDW - ATL
Read more Delta reviews

The crew was very inconsiderate and rude. My flight was scheduled to depart at 6:00am. I received a call from the crew at 5:40am, asking if I was going to make the flight because I was the only one that hasn't boarded yet and boarding ends at 5:50am. I let them know that I will be at the gate in a few minutes, before the 5:50am cutoff. When I arrived at the gate at 5:45am the gate was closed. Departing early on last minute notice without having all passengers on board is inconsiderate and unprofessional.

Very easy to use and convenient, you can perform any action within the same portal

Okay considering we had weather delays which the Pilot notified us of immediately!

The boarding was organized and informative but the plane was tight meaning that you were sitting on one another and extremely uncomfortable. It’s disappointing that can’t have common seating comfort on the plane.

Everything could have benn better. Short fly, no food, no entertainment and no wifi.

Stop changing gates. Stop cancelling flights Stop moving my seat.

The staff was frielndly. The plane was terrible, it was too small and should be decommissioned. There were no back seat screens at all. The only beverages we had a choice from was coffee, tea or water. The only bathroom in the back was behind the flight attendant's jump seat and wasn't working. And I literally felt like I was sitting on top of the guy next to me. It was terribly hot in the plane and we had to sit on the tarmac in Chicago for 1/2 hour due to congestion in Mpls. Wouldn't they have know that before they even boarded us so that we could have sat in comfort in the terminal?

This was one of the worst flights I’ve been on in years. I upgraded to comfort and had such an uncomfortable experience. The person next to me was oversized - which I understand - however, they took up their space and mine. I could only use about 50% of my seat space to not be physically touching this person the entire flight and there was no spatial awareness. I also could not use the seat outlet because their body was obstructing it. It was very inconvenient. Their body kept touching me repeatedly during the flight and I felt very uncomfortable. To pay more for an upgraded space and then not even being able to use it was highly disappointing.

It was very cold because the air conditioner was on high power, and my son got sick.

Horrible. Flight ORD to CGH was okay, but Paris was a nightmare. Old planes, delays, involuntary downgrades, broken planes, terrible communication. CGH to CPT was my worst flight ever.

Istanbul to Lahore flight was less than standard for international business class cabins. Seat did not were not flat and it did not operate easily. I had to push buttons hard repeatedly to operate the seat. I was in 5A seat

My, Syed Zawar Hussein Shirazi frequently flyer membership number was not included on my boarding pass from O’Hare to Istanbul despite my reminder to the attendant at check in. Further she forgot to give me my boarding pass form Istanbul to Lahore and she needs to improve her customer service, please 🙏

Chicago to Istanbul was a much better experience than I expected since I’m more accustomed to Qatar Airways business class. The business lounge in the Istanbul airport was amazing - loved the lockers and phone charging stations, and the bathroom was a spa experience in itself. The onward leg from Istanbul to Karachi was utterly disappointing. Terrible plane, and I felt like I was in economy - the seats don’t come near to lying flat and the food was mediocre. What a sad downgrade - it isn’t as though the ticket on that leg was cheaper. So, on that front, there’s no contest with Qatar airways.

Second leg of Turkish Airline with Indigo is disaster for following reason. 1) You have to carry your cabin bags through ladder to boeing 777 because it was parked somewhere in parking lot and was not given a gate to board passengers and this seems to be people traveling to and fro from those flights and is not issue with flight itself. 2) I choose non vegetarian food on Turkish portal way ahead of checkin to entire trip, However the Indigo flight gave me random veg food saying they code veg food code from Turkish. 3) Indigo did not served any alcoholic beverages stating some weird reason which is non nonsensical. 4)Indigo have TV screens in front of you but it displays nothing except "Welcome Onboard" with annoying white black ground in dark flight. This is the most stupidest and annoying part because you are held hostage for 7 hours and only thing you could do is stare back at white screen which does not have entertainment package or even flight tracker. Such a shame.

During mid flight, try to get a flight attendant to help I couldn’t find one Otherwise, everything was perfect

The 2 agents on the check in counter were super nice , helpful and very polite. Boarding was like a 1 2 3, I would recommend Turkish airlines for your next trip.

7 stars hospitality and an excellent service by the Turkish Airline entire team. Somehow, our membership numbers for mileage points were not indicated on our boarding passes issued at O’Hare Airport by the Turkish Airlines check in desk. During transit in Istanbul, I brought to attention of customer service Turkish Airlines. Please have our mileage points posted to our membership account from O’Hare Chicago to Lahore for both my wife Kaukab Shirazi Thank you

Terrible boarding process, no proper line maintained even for business class, crews are not very attentive, business class food quality / variety / quantity have gone down, everything has become cheap.

Food quality and the overall service of the staff and significantly decreased. The flight was delayed at the Istanbul airport and the passengers were kept onboard for more than 3 hours. The staff didn’t kept the passengers informed and everyone was upset.

Turkish Airlines apparently no longer gives you 2 checked bags allowance on international flights, so that pleasure cost me $165 for my second suitcase at the airport. On top of that, they damaged that very suitcase, which happens to be a designer one and part of a set - ripped one of the four wheels right off.

The kid in the middle seat kicked me almost the whole flight, almost kicked my hot tea off my tray. The flight was delayed due to the first plane not being able to be de-iced in July! We had to get a new plane. Now I drive 3 hours back to Edmonton because direct flights from PVR were way to expensive

The flight was delayed by a hour and I wish they had communicated it sooner. No issues on the plane, it did take a while for food to come.

Know that the movies that you are going to be offered are the oldest be rated movies they could possibly get. They may have one or two new movies that they keep advertising but when you’re flying 15 hours, there is nothing to see past the first new movie.

Agents at gate were not immediately available to solve problems and once they did they didn’t fix all the fight connections

Great experience. Boarding was fast, staff were very nice and funny, everything at the seat worked well.

Horrible! Several delays and then was cancelled! I spent over 24 hours in the airport and was unable to get a hotel or food voucher.

Smooth travel. Immediate update prior flight delay so I can arrange myself properly without too rush.

Boarded early; and arrived home 40 mins early. After a long flight, it’s nice to be back home early. These flights have no amenities; no snacks. So need to bring your own

A long delay. Don't travel late in the day.

Super friendly with lots of drink options an entertainment. Friendly crew.

It was a great experience for my first time flying with this airline. I will be flying with them a lot more now. Plane crew was amazing.

The flight was very smooth, however, the quality of food was mediocre.

The TV wasn't working No music for the whole flight from JFK to LOS It was too burring.

Flight was delayed by two hours. This really messed things up because I missed my connecting flight in Addis. I had a meeting in Entebbe which was scrapped because my flight from Addis landed later in the day.

The crew was unfriendly and very rude to name a few (Helina). I felt unsafe due to most of the cabinets were open while on flight. All in all the flight was ok, but the crew needed more training on customer service most of all for international flights.

The Boeing 737 MAX on this route, flown in the middle of the night, is an UTTER FAILURE for business travellers. The whole point of business travel is to arrive alert and recover from travel quickly, and this little aeroplane with its quarter recline uncomfortable business seats does nothing for that. It’s a small step up from economy in that you have decent legroom, but that’s it. Absolute margin at the cost of the traveller.

The use of a domestic carrier without entertainment was disappointing and a let down

There where no ear phones provided and the food needs to improve.

I like the leg room. I did not like the plane from Chicago to Addis. It was dirty and smelly and toilet area filthy. My screen was not working and kept saying loading. The plane from Addis to Harare was clean , more modern and food looked much fresher and tasted better. Boarding at Addis was a nightmare, long queues and lots of confusion,International space has no seating are and one is standing all the time.

The food could be better, the beef was quite tough. The crew were friendly and helpful on this flight, which has not being my experience on other Ethiopian flights.

I was very unhappy with the lack of communication from the cockpit. It took close to a half an hour before we took off after the doors were closed, and we got no announcements as to progress. It would be nice to get some acknowledgement of the situation and updates as to when we are taking off.

The seat was not even cleaned. It has full of cookie crums probably from last flight's passenger. Its basic expectation that, seats are clean.

Very turbulent flight, no drinks, very little service, unorganized boarding, gate changed multiple times

The flight was delayed significantly. Communication during the flight was abrupt and caused some panic as we were navigating turbulence. It was also too loud and every announcement felt startling. The flight attendants did not offer any assurances and I felt unsettled most of the flight. The seats, floor and tray table was very dirty. The seat next to me was broken and the passenger sitting there was very uncomfortable. He had a spring in his back and his seat made terrible squeaking noises through the flight.

Significant delays on my trip to Chicago and my trip back to NY

Delayed by 5 hours and I had to wit in the airport for more than 6+ hours.

I’ve got 31F seat and window seat . My 2 co passengers was AA crew members and they were very rude attitude and when I was going to use bathroom their gestures was very different and awkward and the guy beside me completely occupied the hand rest and I was really uncomfortable

It was so much better than expected, Ohare is not such a pleasant experience but American Airlines with the new, clean aeroplane and free Wi-Fi was outstanding and the crew so pleasant and helpful.

It wa sort of on time; the cab was left with some trash

My pillow had a shoe print on it, when I asked if I can have another pillow, I was told “I’m sorry but it is one pillow per guest, do YOU want to turn it inside out” to which I responded , no thanks I will go without. This is generally not ok, but For the price tag I paid flying business this is absolutely unacceptable. Hopefully American Airlines can update their accommodations to bedding that is not tossed on the ground and stepped on, or at least have a couple of extra pillows in hand, incase someone had decided to step on the pillows for what ever reason

Everything you need to know for your flight from Chicago to South Africa

Cabin class types available on flights to South Africa

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