$592 Find Cheap Flights from South Africa to Chicago

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to Chicago departing on 10/23. 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

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

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Chicago, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Chicago, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Cheap Flights from South Africa to Chicago

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from South Africa to Chicago 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 South Africa to Chicago

Tue, Nov 4 - Wed, Nov 12
Ethiopian Air Logo
1:50 pm - 7:40 amCPT-ORD
25h 50m2 stops
Ethiopian Air Logo
9:45 am - 2:35 pmORD-CPT
20h 50m1 stop
$864Ethiopian Air
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Sun, Nov 23 - Sun, Nov 30
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:05 pm - 10:05 amJNB-ORD
23h 00m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
11:50 am - 10:50 amORD-JNB
39h 00m1 stop
$876Turkish Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Nov 4 - Wed, Nov 12
United Airlines Logo
8:50 pm - 1:55 pmCPT-ORD
25h 05m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
1:47 pm - 6:00 pmORD-CPT
20h 13m1 stop
$932United Airlines
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Fri, Nov 14 - Wed, Dec 3
United Airlines Logo
8:50 pm - 9:40 amCPT-ORD
20h 50m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
3:35 pm - 6:00 pmORD-CPT
18h 25m1 stop
$933United Airlines
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Fri, Nov 21 - Fri, Nov 28
British Airways Logo
10:00 pm - 6:45 pmJNB-ORD
28h 45m1 stop
British Airways Logo
6:35 pm - 7:35 amORD-JNB
29h 00m2 stops
$996British Airways
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Sun, Nov 23 - Sun, Nov 30
KLM Logo
7:20 pm - 3:10 pmJNB-ORD
27h 50m1 stop
KLM Logo
1:25 pm - 10:05 pmORD-JNB
24h 40m2 stops
$1,012KLM
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Thu, Nov 13 - Thu, Dec 4
Delta Logo
9:30 pm - 9:27 pmJNB-ORD
31h 57m2 stops
Delta Logo
7:00 am - 10:05 pmORD-JNB
31h 05m2 stops
$1,016Delta
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Sun, Nov 23 - Sun, Nov 30
Delta Logo
10:00 pm - 6:18 pmJNB-MDW
28h 18m2 stops
Delta Logo
9:34 am - 10:05 pmMDW-JNB
28h 31m2 stops
$1,016Delta
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Mon, Mar 16 - Fri, Jul 31
British Airways Logo
10:00 pm - 7:45 pmJNB-ORD
28h 45m1 stop
British Airways Logo
4:56 pm - 7:00 amORD-JNB
31h 04m2 stops
$1,041British Airways
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Wed, Nov 12 - Tue, Dec 2
KLM Logo
11:45 pm - 6:08 pmCPT-MDW
26h 23m2 stops
KLM Logo
1:14 pm - 9:55 pmMDW-CPT
24h 41m2 stops
$1,057KLM
Find Deal

Everything you should know

When to travel
February
Cheapest • 10% price drop
June
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Cheapest round-trip
$864
Overall average: $1,038
Ethiopian Air
Tue 11/4Wed 11/12
CPT - ORD • 2 stops
Cheapest one-way
$592
Typical prices: $589-$647
Multiple Airlines
Thu 10/23
JNB - ORD • 2 stops
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KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Chicago!
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to Chicago

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

What is the cheapest month to fly to Chicago?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights to Chicago, 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 to Chicago is February, where tickets cost $968 on average for one-way flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and December, where the average cost of tickets from South Africa is $1,237 and $1,190 respectively. For return trips, the best month to travel is February with an average price of $968.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to Chicago, 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, you should book around 0 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 83 days before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in Chicago?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in Chicago is Chicago Greater Rockford Airport, with an average flight price of $151.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$592
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 9% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 1% lower on average.
Flight from Johannesburg to Chicago O'Hare Airport

FAQs - booking Chicago flights

  • Which Chicago airport is closest to central Chicago?

    9 miles away from Chicago’s city center, Chicago Midway Airport is the closest of the 3 major airports in the city. There are 16 miles separating Chicago city center to Chicago O'Hare Airport, and 79 miles to Chicago Greater Rockford.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to Chicago?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Chicago is Tuesday where tickets can be as cheap as $967. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Thursday, where prices are $1,318 on average.

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

    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 to Chicago.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Chicago is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to Chicago?

    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 to Chicago 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 to Chicago?

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

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Chicago?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to Chicago is generally in the morning, when flights cost $1,005 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Chicago is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,099.

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

    Each week there are around 15,583 direct flights from within South Africa to Chicago. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 15% of flights taking off on this day.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Chicago

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Chicago flight deals.

Reviews of the top 4 airlines serving from South Africa to Chicago

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to Chicago. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from South Africa to Chicago. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with to Chicago? 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.
7.9
DeltaOverall score based on 7971 reviews
7.9Comfort
8.5Crew
8.2Boarding
7.9Entertainment
7.3Food
Airline reviews

The crew was not very visible. This might be a good thing for people who wanted to sleep but seemed odd when compared to the Atlantic crossing where they are more present in the cabin. The Food (beef) was not good. Tough and tasteless. Would love to see more choices on a long flight like that.

8.0 ExcellentKathrin, Oct 2025SYD - LAX
Read more Delta reviews

The crew was not very visible. This might be a good thing for people who wanted to sleep but seemed odd when compared to the Atlantic crossing where they are more present in the cabin. The Food (beef) was not good. Tough and tasteless. Would love to see more choices on a long flight like that.

The flight was great. The gate location was way to far away!!!

This was our second flight using the Delta One class of service. Overall, it’s a good product but for me the POD configuration is a bit constrictive. I am an average size male at 5’ 10” height weighing 190 lbs so it’s not a size thing for me. I’d rather have extra wide seats without the POD walls to be honest.

The flight attendant in first class was beyond rude and didn't care at all about her job. AND the gate agent was even worse than the flight attendant for rudeness. She was awful.

Convient flight. Good experience. No complaints other than the food quality seems to have decreased.

Food tray looked like penitentiary food - little effort to make it look appealing (packaging colour and design)

Movie selection was meh. Food was great. Crew as always great. I paid for premium because that’s the only way not to feel like a sardine. That’s how economy should be imo. Sadly passengers have to pay an extra $1000 to get what they should at base price but that’s all airlines. The airline industry in general treats passengers as cargo.

Gate agent rushed to fill hot jetway with crowd so it took over 12 minutes to go from gate to plane. Just like a discount airline Pooly prepared cabin and third time that claim of rough air prevented any cabin service. Friends on a Southwest flight at similar time had service.

My only complaint on any flight is meals but your gnocchi was good. The worst is breakfast. I can’t understand why you don’t just serve something simple like yogurt, fruit and a muffin or cinnamon roll.

Cramped seating for me. Luckily it wasn’t a long flight

Flight was ok but lack of communication cost me to literally beg to be put on another flight as connecting flight had departed

They forgot to serve food and the crew was very unfriendly. Never experienced such a bad KLM flight. Usually fly from Toronto. New York was different.

Couldn’t get boarding pass in SLC even with help from a redcoat, so had to find a desk in AMS to get boarding pass. Technical problems so not sure why. Very inconvenient. The KLM app is not as user friendly as most apps. Also had to wait almost an hour on the tarmac for a fuel truck, which caused us to miss a connecting bus in LUX.

The immigration hall in Amsterdam was understaffed, so passport checking was slower than it should be for a major airport. They need to get the automatic readers up and running for non EU passport holders. Waiting in line after a long flight feels a bit abusive.

Short flight so it was okay. Nice crew, all very pleasant and professional. We were near the back in row 27 so just as we got our drinks, we started our descent so had to drink very quickly!

KLM remains a quality flag carrier airline which maintains its standards whilst all their competitors are lowering theirs.

Our first flight was delayed so we missed our connecting flight. However it was easy to book a later flight on their app.

Klm start boarding while somw air issue in the plan

The service was great. However the lounge only gets passing grade

Cabin crew professional, polite and friendly, boarding was seemless, but come on KLM surely you can do better than a pack of cheesy biscuits as an inflight snack

Trip was great. A wild landing in Ottawa with the wind and rain, but the pilot did a great job. Always love flying United.👍

Excellent experience. Starting with the agent at the Premier bag drop who noticed I was very early for my scheduled flight and offered to rebook me on an earlier flight with my seat preference. She would not let me leave the counter until she knew that all of the changes and new boarding pass showed up on my United app. At the gate, the flight boarded quickly such that we departed early and the flight was smooth. We arrived 20 minutes early at ORD and I was able to be home in time for dinner. One of the best flights I've had.

Salina to travers city was great! But the sept 24 Tranverse city was not! Traverse city to chichago was cancelled, i went to Denver & got to Salina 6 hours later!

See previous note about the passenger in Denver who threw my husband's bag out of the overhead bin in order to maker room for his own. And the flight attendant back up the new passenger.

Could have said yes to a glass of wine 🍷 instead of saying we'll come around in a couple of hours

My flight was delayed about 1 1/2 hours in Chicago, but other then that it was a good flight.

Flight attendant in first class gave poor service (like he didn't want to be there) and food was awful. We sat waiting for gate upon arrival over 45 mins.

Inoperable monitor left no entert for 9 hours. Crew was not helpful Food was awful.

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.

It was good although our flight to the UK was cancelled and rescheduled for two days later. This was after we were already seated on the plane. We missed the first leg of our trip. BA did put us up at a hotel and paid for our meals but we lost our hotel costs in Glasgow.

The crew was very nice and pleasant. We were very reluctant to book our flight with British Airlines because we had bad experience with their flight attendants on the previous trips, they were rude and not helpful.

I am a 25+ years American Airlines member. British Airways is simply above and beyond in every customer satisfaction category.

The seat pads are past there sell by date now and are uncomfotable. Also, with screens in the back of the seat, the seats shouldnt be able to recline as this puts rhe screen in your face.

1. The website didn’t allow me to checkin from London as I have Bangladesh passport with US permanent resident card. This pushed me to sit with my wife in the middle of two aisle seats, terrible experience! 2. BA should allow within 24 hours to checkin with other passport holders to choose better seats. A 2nd verification of travel documents can be done at the desk about immigration status. 3. Food options were poor for vegetarian passengers, try to introduce healthy options avoiding carb-dense food ingredients.

Cabin crew lovely and accommodating and I'll always fly BA in the future

It was perfect. The service was exceptional. I would never want to cross the Atlantic in anyone else's sardine tins.

As I have said it sucked, the ticket counter to have to find and pay for another airline to get home. Now I understand this happened over the weekend but they should have someone there to talk to us instead of throwing the regular crew under the bus.

Everything excellent except for bag drop off. We started at the D area and that was so slow that it was eventually closed just as we were about to go to a station. We then went to F. We got one suitcase checked and then the screen showed that the station was no longer operable. There were long lines everywhere so we had to ask if we could butt in to the next station to finish. Again, this was the only incident, otherwise it was an excellent flying experience

Adequate to good experience. Comfort was mediocre but everything else was good..

Traveling to a place near Chicago?

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Everything you need to know for your flight to Chicago

Cabin class types available on flights to Chicago

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

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