$172 Find Cheap Flights from San José to Illinois

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San José to Illinois departing on 5/14. 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

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

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San José to Illinois.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San José to Illinois.
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Flight Deals

Book Cheap San José to Illinois Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San José to Illinois 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 San José to Illinois

Sun, Jul 19 - Sat, Jul 25
Frontier Logo
9:35 am - 11:59 pm
SJO
-
STL
13h 24m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
4:09 pm - 8:20 am
STL
-
SJO
17h 11m
1 stop
$343Frontier
Fri, Jul 17 - Fri, Jul 31
Spirit Airlines Logo
1:21 pm - 9:22 am
SJO
-
ORD
19h 01m
1 stop
Spirit Airlines Logo
5:10 am - 12:15 pm
ORD
-
SJO
8h 05m
1 stop
$346Spirit Airlines
Mon, Jun 1 - Fri, Jun 5
Frontier Logo
9:35 am - 11:57 pm
SJO
-
STL
13h 22m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
4:19 pm - 8:19 am
STL
-
SJO
17h 00m
1 stop
$349Frontier
Mon, Sep 21 - Sat, Sep 26
Copa Airlines Logo
10:03 am - 1:02 am
SJO
-
ORD
13h 59m
1 stop
Copa Airlines Logo
3:20 pm - 7:10 am
ORD
-
SJO
16h 50m
1 stop
$368Copa Airlines
Wed, Sep 23 - Sun, Sep 27
United Airlines Logo
1:25 pm - 8:37 am
SJO
-
STL
18h 12m
2 stops
United Airlines Logo
6:15 am - 12:21 pm
STL
-
SJO
7h 06m
1 stop
$385United Airlines
Wed, May 13 - Tue, Jun 2
American Airlines Logo
11:35 pm - 11:27 am
SJO
-
STL
10h 52m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
6:12 pm - 1:09 pm
STL
-
SJO
19h 57m
2 stops
$399American Airlines
Thu, Jul 23 - Mon, Jul 27
American Airlines Logo
2:12 pm - 12:23 am
SJO
-
STL
9h 11m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
7:26 pm - 2:17 pm
STL
-
SJO
19h 51m
1 stop
$402American Airlines
Wed, Sep 23 - Fri, Sep 25
United Airlines Logo
1:25 pm - 8:37 am
SJO
-
STL
18h 12m
2 stops
United Airlines Logo
8:15 pm - 12:21 pm
STL
-
SJO
17h 06m
2 stops
$417United Airlines
Thu, Aug 13 - Mon, Aug 17
Southwest Logo
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
SJO
-
MDW
8h 00m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:00 am - 12:45 pm
MDW
-
SJO
8h 45m
1 stop
$464Southwest
Wed, Sep 2 - Wed, Sep 9
Southwest Logo
1:40 pm - 11:10 pm
SJO
-
MDW
8h 30m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
10:10 am - 6:40 pm
MDW
-
SJO
9h 30m
2 stops
$468Southwest
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for San José to Illinois flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San José to Illinois to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from San José to Illinois?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from San José to Illinois departing in July.

What is the cheapest San José to Illinois flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to Illinois from San José found in the last 72 hours was to Chicago, at $313 round-trip. The most popular route is from San José (SJO) to Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport (ORD), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $313.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Illinois?

The average price for all round-trip flights from San José to Illinois depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to Illinois is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $464 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Illinois is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $469.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San José to Illinois?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San José to Illinois, 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 San José to Illinois is January, when tickets cost $371 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and July, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $522 and $482 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from San José to Illinois?

The average price of all round-trip flights from San José to Illinois clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

If your flying dates are flexible, you should consider flying to Illinois on a Tuesday, as we generally find the cheapest rates on that day for this route. On the other hand, Sunday is the most expensive day to fly from San José to Illinois. For your return ticket, we recommend flying on a Tuesday and avoiding Saturdays for the best deals.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San José to Illinois?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San José to Illinois, 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 San José to Illinois, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 7% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 10 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$172
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 2% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 9% lower on average.
Flight from San José to Chicago O'Hare Airport

FAQs - booking Illinois flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San José 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 San José to Illinois.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San José to Illinois?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from San José 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 San José 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 San José 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 San José 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 San José to Illinois up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from San José to Illinois

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San José to Illinois. 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 San José 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.
7.5
Copa AirlinesOverall score based on 1578 reviews
7.8Boarding
6.8Entertainment
8.1Crew
7.4Comfort
6.8Food
Airline reviews

Boarding was confusing from staff telling going to preboard and than to group 1 Airplane was not cooling at the beginning

8.0 ExcellentLuis, Mar 2026
LIM - PTY
Read more Copa Airlines reviews

Boarding was confusing from staff telling going to preboard and than to group 1 Airplane was not cooling at the beginning

Avoid at all costs. My wife had to stay back on a connecting flight as her parents flight was delayed. 10 days later on the way back they cancelled all our flights. We had to rebook all four of us on the next days flight.

The food is terrible I ask for water never got transport my mother we’re late and my sister from Lima was the worst waiting to long for wheelchair

Do not book it’s a scam! They stole $1200 from me

Flight got delayed; had to go through security three times.

A lot things happened in this trip.The fly should be less stress.

Horrible. No TV or any type of entertainment on board. Passwnger listening to/watching stuff on their own phone with no headphones making it noise and uncomfortable for everyone else, little/tiny food portions, old seats, useless wifi (cant access anything). Horrible exlerience especially it was a lomg distance flight with kids.

Some of the Air hostesses are not that friendly. Need improvement

Simply as follows:- First, there was no vegetarian option for the meal Second, only 2 washrooms for the entire economy class.

Boarding was quick & efficient; they gave boarding groups due priority; staff & air crew were very cordial and helpful, pleasant flight.

Starlink is great Crew was polite Business class didn’t get a welcome drink just water and snacks were ok

Delayed - weather wasn't bad at either end. Also sat on tarmac in ORD.

very average service no complimentary alcoholics drinks unlike other airlines such as Porter airlines No decent seats available during check-in time the day before

boarded early to only find out that flight would sit at gate for 45 min to an hour. Landed in chicago and sat on runway for over an hour before got to gate. Total delay was extensive for a 45 min flight door to door.

The flight was significantly delayed. The inbound flight from EWR was delayed departing because of mechanical problems. My original departure from CLT was 5:28 pm but due to the delay of the inbound flight, after arrival, deplaning, cleaning, boarding, we did not push back from the gate until 9:00 pm. Once in the air, the flight was smooth and what was originally supposed to be an arrival in ORD at 7:30 pm local time turned out to be 9:35 pm.

The flight I was supposed to be on was supposed to take off at 1:50 from State College. It was delayed over and over and over again until somehow I had to rebook on a flight that was supposed to have left State College at 8 am that morning but didn't end up taking off until almost 6 pm. Not only was this completely unacceptable, the "token from United" was a 15 dollar meal voucher that has to be used by today. I would personally like some miles added to my account for this inconvenience. I was in transit for 8 hours from the time I arrive at State College Aiport to when I got home. I was supposed to be home at 3 pm and I returned at 8 pm. Unacceptable. I have not been on an on Time united flight in nearly 5 years.

newer aircraft, ability to connect my headset via blue tooth for entertainment.

Very comfortable flight, snacks and drinks were good, good communication from crew. Could have used a little more information on timing of boarding for group 5

Great flight. Got to watch a movie. Smooth flight and early arrival at ORD.

It was better than excellent. The staff in Mason City were great. The young woman that pushed my wheelchair did more than could be expected of her. She came from India 17 years ago. I don't remember her name.

It was good, the staff was great, and the food, was as usual, tea and biscuit. Bathroom was clean, and the plane was clean as well.

Very good I can’t complain one bit. Thank you American Airlines for making my flight enjoyable and safe!

The staff and service on American Airlines were truly outstanding. I had requested wheelchair assistance for my mother due to her knee issues, and the team went above and beyond every step of the way—from boarding in Boston to our arrival in Chicago. Their care, professionalism, and attentiveness made the entire experience smooth and stress-free. I’m very grateful for the support they provided.

The new planes (American Eagle) are beautiful and especially comfortable. The flight attendants are consistently professional and courteous. And, while it may seem inconsequential, the new liquid tube of coffee creamer—in contrast to the powdered coffee creamer—makes all the difference in a cup of coffee.

Boarding was quick and efficient. We arrived at our destination early.

I'm not sure American is capable of on-time arrivals and departures. When you land at ORD, you almost always get held on the tarmac because your gate is still occupied. I may have missed my connection, but that ended up up being significantly delayed as well. Once again, I finally got home well after midnight.

Didn't make it back on American Airlines due to a maintenance issue. The communication and updates were terrible. I ended up returning on Aero Mexico which had a much nicer aircraft with a large entertainment screen with movies and shows AND they had a nice inflight meal. That was a treat after being delayed 26 hours! I think some additional flight miles, or something should be offered for that long of a delay ---it was not pleasant at all---very physical and emotional experience.

Crew at the gate was very crabby and not at all polite. The plane was very hot the entire flight. And the seat cushion was very worn out.

The staff are very, very professional. It's what flying should feel like.

Flight was delayed half hour before boarding, but when I checked flight aware the plane that would Pick us up had a delay of more than an hour. AA should let us know in advance to avoid waiting several hours in the airport

Horrible experience with Avianca, they delayed their flight and when we arrived to NYC, AVIANCA took 1 hr y 30 mins to park the airplane and all passenger get off the plane, it made me lost all my trains to get back home and I came back to my place at 3 am instead of 12 am. On the top of that their plane seat are so uncomfortable and is not enough space and killed my legs and knees, Avianca used to be good when it was a Colombian company, now after Brasilian company bought them, their service quality is bad and their flights are delayed and oversold.

Boarding was late due to the company’s that cleaned the aircraft (very poorly done) and the catering company. The entertainment system was not working for this six hour flight, uncomfortable seats in business (barely any cushion or recline). The airline staff is very good but the planes are horrible and not well maintained.

Deplaning was a mess, I sat in business (seats are horrible) and the front door had a problem so we had to deplane from the rear exit. The stairs were not tall enough to reach so there was a large step down from the plane to the top of the stairs.

Last seat of Bussines Class it does recline but passenger seating behind kept pushing since they did not have space once my seat was reclined

I handed in my suitcase in perfect condition at SAL Airport. And in MIA Airport I received it with one corner broken and the wheels bent.

I like the crew members they're very friendly. Clean plane. The flight was on time. I dont like the comfort my car seat its better that the plane seats. They charge for everything. This airline was very good. Now it's a low cost airline

Not even water is offered on the flight. You cannot lean back on the seats and the seats are so narrow you can’t avoid rubbing elbows with the person next to you.

6 hour flight and have to pay for everything 100 dollars to add a carry-on bag is insane

Usb plugs for charging your phone does not work in every flight. uncomfortable chairs even in higher categories.

The check in is the only positive thing in Avianca. The seat is the most uncomfortable I have traveled, the distance is minimal.

My first time experience with Spirit Air was not good at all.The reason i did not know to cancel 24Hrs before flight depature you do charge cancellation fee. It's ridiculous policy.Actually you should provide full voucher instead of charging cancellation fee. Confirmation Code# ZNVPHG Thanks Much , Rita S

That this is my second time the they cancel flights and they always wait until the last minute to let people know

Spirit is awful. Do not fly spirit. Nothing but delays, cancellations.

Nothing. We didn’t even have a pilot until one hour after our flight was set to depart and now we are waiting for a gate on a very hot packed aircraft. Spirit has lost its goddamn minds and we will never fly again. On the way down the delay went from 5 minutes to 6 hours to cancelled.

Delayed 11 hours with two being on our destinations tarmac, no compensation or refund and was told I would actually get charged a $200 cancellation fee if I decided to switch airlines for my return flight. For their inconvenience they gave a $10 meal voucher to split between two people in a airport.

Like Spirit but bad that you have to pay for water 🙃

If there are delays, it takes less than a minute for a Spirit employee to make an announcement. It’s very simple.

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.

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.

Everything you need to know for your flight from San José to Illinois

Information on your arrival and departure airports