SMF - ORD

$41 Find Cheap Flights from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport

1 adult
1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Sacramento to Chicago, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Sacramento to Chicago, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Booking Insights
Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Sacramento to O'Hare Intl

 
Snippets provided in this section are AI-generated based on a summarization of KAYAK-commissioned articles. The articles are presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the articles are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Airlines
United Airlines

Opt for Economy Plus for up to six inches more legroom than standard economy seats.


Check United's Wi-Fi coverage map before purchasing Wi-Fi for consistent connectivity.

American Airlines

Consider Main Cabin Extra for early boarding and complimentary drinks on longer flights.


Download the American Airlines app for inflight entertainment, as seatback screens are being removed.

Airports
SMF

For a quick departure, park on level 3 of lot #3 for direct skybridge access to Terminal B.

ORD

Take the CTA Blue Line train from ORD to downtown Chicago in about 45 minutes, avoiding traffic delays.

Read more about ORDby Stefanie Waldek
Our travel experts
Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Expert on United Airlines and ORD

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design writer based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her words have appeared in Space.com, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, among other publications. An expert in aviation and expedition cruising, Stefanie is frequently up in the air or on the sea, likely en route to Antarctica or the Arctic.

Read more
Harriet Baskas

Harriet Baskas

Expert on American Airlines

Harriet Baskas

Harriet Baskas

Harriet is an award-winning journalist who is happiest in an airport or an unusual museum. Her stories about airports, air travel, and the business of travel have appeared on NBC News, CNBC, USA TODAY, The Points Guy and other outlets. She is the creator of the StuckatTheAirport.com blog and the author of nine books. When not out on the road or exploring the latest airport amenities, she’s home in Seattle getting ready for the next adventure.

Read more
Bill Fink

Bill Fink

Expert on SMF

Bill Fink

Bill Fink

Bill is an award-winning travel writer with extensive credits covering airlines and the aviation industry for publications including AARP, AFAR, The Points Guy and Yahoo. Based in Portland, Oregon, Bill has traveled to more than 75 countries - and been late for his flight in most of them. He once achieved top-level frequent flier status for all of American, Delta and United Airlines during a single year.

Read more
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Sacramento to O'Hare Intl flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Sacramento to O'Hare Intl to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the most popular layover airport when flying from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport?

Percentage of 1-stop round-trip flights from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport chosen by KAYAK users via each layover airport in the last 12 months (only includes trips with the same layover airport on both legs).

Las Vegas (LAS) is the top choice – 75% of KAYAK users who clicked on 1-stop flights from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport picked an itinerary connecting there.

What is the cheapest layover airport when flying from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport?

Average round-trip price for 1-stop flights from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport clicked by KAYAK users in the last 12 months (only includes trips with the same layover airport on both legs).

Flights via Las Vegas (LAS) offer the most affordable fares, with an average round-trip price of $257.

Which layover airport offers the shortest total travel time from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport?

Shortest average total travel time for 1-stop one-way flights from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport via different layover airports, based on KAYAK user data from the last 12 months.

Consider flying via Phoenix (PHX) for the shortest journey. The average one-way travel time for flights connecting there is 6h 08m.

Which layover airport has the quickest connection when flying from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport?

Average layover duration at different layover airports for 1-stop one-way flights from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport, based on KAYAK user data from the last 12 months.

If you prefer a quick connection, Phoenix (PHX) often has the shortest layovers from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport, with an average of 0h 42m.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$41
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 3% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 1% lower on average.
Flight from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport

When to book flights from Sacramento to O'Hare Intl

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Sacramento to O'Hare Intl based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.
  • What are some of the transportation options to get from the Chicago O' Hare International Airport (ORD) into the downtown Chicago area after a flight?

    A good option that utilizes public transportation is to take the Blue Line train operated by the Chicago Transit Authority, which makes the trip from the airport to the downtown area in around 43min. Passengers that would like to take a taxi on this trip should expect to be traveling for about 23 minutes.

  • Does the Chicago O' Hare International Airport offer any shower facilities at the airport?

    Passengers can utilize the showers at the Hilton Athletic Club, the American Airlines Club, or the United Polaris Lounge after a flight from Sacramento.

  • Are there any airports that have a location close to the terminal buildings at the Chicago O' Hare International Airport?

    One of the most convenient options is to stay at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport Hotel, which has a location right across from Terminal Two, and there's a connection to all of the domestic terminals through an underground walkway system.

  • If I plan on renting a car upon my arrival at Chicago O' Hare International Airport, where should I plan to find the rental car companies?

    One of the greatest features of this airport is that they offer around 12 different rental car companies offering service here. Every one of the rental car companies has its customer service desk, and all of the cars are available for rent at the Multi-Modal Facility. To get to this facility after a flight, passengers should follow signage to make their way to the Airport Transit System that will take them from the airport terminals to the facility.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $197 or less one-way and $400 or less round-trip.
  • A really terrific way to get from the downtown Sacramento area to the Sacramento International Airport (SMF) that does not involve driving in your own car is to take the Line 142 bus operated by Sacramento Regional Transit, which can take you from the downtown area to the airport in around 18min.
  • Passengers that are going to park their own cars at the Sacramento International Airport (SMF) that want to find the most economical choice for parking should utilize the East and West Economy Parking Lots at the airport which offer the lowest daily rate and have shuttle service back to the airport buildings around every 25min.
  • For those passengers looking for a way to pass the time before a flight from Sacramento International Airport, this airport offers an extensive collection of artwork found throughout both of the terminal buildings at the airport. One of the great things to see in this collection is the Flying Gardens in Terminal A which consists of 12 massive bird sculptures mounted at varying heights.
  • For those passengers that want to find a relaxing and convenient place to wait for a flight at Sacramento International Airport, there are two Escape Lounge locations at this airport that feature an abundance of seating options, food and beverage choices, computers with internet access, and flight information screens.
  • Passengers that will be taking a four-legged friend or a service animal with them on their flight from Sacramento International Airport should know that this airport offers four different pet relief areas, with two in each terminal building -- one outside of the terminal and then one past the security checkpoints.

Prefer to fly direct from Sacramento to Chicago O'Hare Airport?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Sacramento Intl to Chicago O'Hare Intl.
Find which airlines fly direct from Sacramento Intl Airport to Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Sacramento Intl to Chicago O'Hare Intl

Monday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

Tuesday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

Wednesday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

Thursday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

Friday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

Saturday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

Sunday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +2 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +3 more

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Chicago O'Hare Intl to Sacramento Intl

Monday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

Tuesday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

Wednesday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

Thursday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

Friday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

Saturday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

Sunday

Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, +1 more

Air Canada, American Airlines, +2 more

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Sacramento to O'Hare Intl

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Sacramento to Chicago. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Sacramento to O'Hare Intl? 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
DeltaOverall score based on 7981 reviews
8.5Crew
8.2Boarding
7.9Comfort
7.9Entertainment
7.3Food
Airline reviews

My husband upgraded our seats and I don't know if it was due to the type of planet was or if they didn't upgrade our seats. We were supposed to be in I believe comfort seats and they were just as tight as any other seat- no leg room and we are very tall people but at least it wasn't extremely cold. My husband did put in a complaint about our seating because he paid extra and if we would have known that the space and the tightness would have been the same, we just would have gotten the emergency row emergency row seats that we normally get. We love Delta but both our flights coming home we're not good. Oh I forgot to mention that on our flight to Hawaii our luggage wheels got broke and we had to purse new luggage on vacation then we never had this problem so we didn't know protocol and reported it after we got home only for them to tell is we only had 24hrs to report the damage. Not sure what was going on with Delta this vacation trip.

4.0 OkayMrs., Jul 2025LAX - RDU
Read more Delta reviews

My husband upgraded our seats and I don't know if it was due to the type of planet was or if they didn't upgrade our seats. We were supposed to be in I believe comfort seats and they were just as tight as any other seat- no leg room and we are very tall people but at least it wasn't extremely cold. My husband did put in a complaint about our seating because he paid extra and if we would have known that the space and the tightness would have been the same, we just would have gotten the emergency row emergency row seats that we normally get. We love Delta but both our flights coming home we're not good. Oh I forgot to mention that on our flight to Hawaii our luggage wheels got broke and we had to purse new luggage on vacation then we never had this problem so we didn't know protocol and reported it after we got home only for them to tell is we only had 24hrs to report the damage. Not sure what was going on with Delta this vacation trip.

Crew was excellent. Comfort seats not as nice as other kinds of planes.

It was a great flight and the stewards and stewardess were all kind and accommodating!! The seats were comfortable and entertainment screen excellent!

There are 4 flights in consecutive gates with about the same departure time. Two flights were boarding at the same time. One was delayed or boarding would be happening at the same time. I am not sure what Delta and LAX need to do to have a better layout at the end of Terminal 2

There was a security issue at the airport and we were unable to land. We circled endlessly and then landed at another airfield for fuel. We then circled the airport again, almost landed but didn’t fully touch down before circling again. I am thankful to the crew for keeping us safe- the issue was the airline and staff at the airport getting us seats on our connecting flights. That part was hours of searching for someone and getting in double my steps.

Most aspects were good however if they assign boarding zones they ought to enforce them or why bother? My luggage from SAN-JFK-MAD was lost in NY so I without my main bag for two days upon arrival in Spain. They were helpful in tracking it and eventually delivered it to my hotel. The flub was because of a delay upon arrival in NYC. I had booked 2 1/2 hours between flights but we had to hold on the taxiway for an hour after landing while waiting for a clear gate which likely caused the baggage error.

Excellent flight, the planes were newer, they did a nice job with boarding, great service overall.

It would be nice if was given wires ear buds. Overall was a good experience was able to sleep on the plane

737-800 in first class was pretty dumpy. Seat had an uncomfortable angle, storage under the seat was blocked so even my very modest backpack didn't fit, power outlet was flaky. Weird tiny seat pockets that couldn't hold a gallon ziploc bag, emesis bag missing, etc. etc. No in-flight service due to turbulence. Crew was excellent, boarding was smooth despite a full flight.

Delta flight was on time, seats were comfortable, and crew was nice.

Weather delay in Chicago?. No sense of urgency to make connection in Chicago for our connecting flight that wasn't delayed. Connection was missed.

Overall it was good. I missed my connection but I was put on another flight.

Overall a very poor experience - booked premium economy tickets but due to last minute flight delays , all my itinery went for a toss and had to fly economy class with no access to lounge or any compensation by united airlines to make up for the flight delays . i had expected better experience than that from united.

It was fine, definitely older planes with no charging or anything. There’s no entertainment set up on board, but it is nice that they allow you to access the in flight entertainment from your phone without having to pay for the Wi-Fi and they do offer free texting.

I liked that the flight was nonstop from ORD to CIU for $200 round trip.

While the staff was pleasant and helpful, the following observations are for your awareness. There was some delay on the tarmac on take off and landing. The paid lunch/food offerings were limited. Entertainment was only available on WiFi at a cost.

The first flight was better in terms of the aircraft.

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.

Couldn’t get the door on the plane to close leading to a nearly 2 hour delay. But, hey at least they didn’t cancel the flight.

The flight was fine and the crew awesome. The problem is ORD and AA. Computers went down, ORD fell apart and a 40 min flight turned into a 3 hour trip. Guess the answer is to not try and fly to ORD after noon. But, as I said, crew was awesome and did everything they could to lesson the flight time.

The flight was fine but the 8 hour delay in Chicago was awful - 5 gate changes and repeated delays without an explanation. No vouchers. Nothing.

Most miserable flight ever. We waited almost 2 hours on the runway because the flight was oversold. American offered $1200 credit. Then there was some nonsense about weight distribution. Ridiculous. No food for 8 plus hours on the flight. I will be writing a letter.

The flight was 2 hour delayed, otherwise everything was excellent. The delay was due to the hourly limit requirement so given that as a reason, I'm happy with the flight!

Not sure the logic of the boarding in Groups. I was loaded first on the aisle. Then the guy in the middle. Then the guy by the window. Constantly holding up the other people boarding behind them with us blocking the aisle and this happened in most of the other rows

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.

Spirit is a very uncomfortable travel experience. It’s cheap but you are squeezed into the seats like canned meat.

The seat belt was lengthy enough that I did not need an extender. Courteous and helpful flight attendants.

As expected. Nothing jumps out at me as bad or wrong, but the flight was fine. No complaints with pilot or crew. The flight left on time and arrived earlier than stated. Overall, I will continue to plan on flying with Spirit.

Horrible considering I didn’t go and I bought travel insurance and I didn’t receive a refund.

While on the flight we had a delay and had to sit on the plane while maintenance fixed it. It’s ended up taking an hour and a half longer to leave than expected. I had an unruly passenger sitting behind me that vaped during the flight and was rude and loud for the majority of the flight.

Spirit is by far the worst airline to travel with, period. Seats are cardboard, flight attendants need anger management and if you ask for water, you’re basically a criminal. I don’t care how much it costs but I will travel with an airline who actually cares about their customers. Oh and one more thing, the next time your gate agent puts his foot on someone’s baggage's scale, I hope they get what’s coming next, a viral video of your scams. You suck Spirit, do better.

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

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

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.

I liked the turn-style feature at gate 209B at LAX. Very efficient process. The gate staff also made several, clearly directed announcements so I felt very informed.

The crew was delayed because they came on another flight that was delayed due to weather 10pm flight left at 1.30 am The airline made no effort to align alternate crew

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.

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