$595 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 4/12. 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 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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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$863
Overall average: $959
Turkish Airlines
Fri 2/20Fri 2/27
JNB - ORD • 1 stop
Cheapest one-way
$595
Typical prices: $658-$840
Multiple Airlines
Sun 4/12
JNB - ORD • 2 stops
When to travel
February
Cheapest • 11% price drop
June
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
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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!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Flight Deals

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

Fri, Feb 20 - Fri, Feb 27
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:05 pm - 10:05 am
JNB
-
ORD
23h 00m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
8:20 pm - 10:50 am
ORD
-
JNB
30h 30m1 stop
$863Turkish Airlines
Sat, Feb 21 - Sat, Feb 28
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:10 pm - 10:05 am
JNB
-
ORD
22h 55m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
8:20 pm - 10:50 am
ORD
-
JNB
30h 30m1 stop
$875Turkish Airlines
Fri, Feb 20 - Fri, Feb 27
Turkish Airlines Logo
4:00 pm - 6:25 pm
DUR
-
ORD
34h 25m2 stops
Turkish Airlines Logo
8:20 pm - 1:30 pm
ORD
-
DUR
33h 10m2 stops
$877Turkish Airlines
Thu, Apr 2 - Fri, Apr 10
Ethiopian Air Logo
1:50 pm - 8:15 am
CPT
-
ORD
25h 25m2 stops
Ethiopian Air Logo
10:15 am - 2:35 pm
ORD
-
CPT
21h 20m1 stop
$894Ethiopian Air
Sun, Feb 22 - Sun, Mar 1
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:05 pm - 6:25 pm
JNB
-
ORD
31h 20m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
8:20 pm - 10:50 am
ORD
-
JNB
30h 30m1 stop
$898Turkish Airlines
Sat, Feb 21 - Sat, Feb 28
Ethiopian Air Logo
2:30 pm - 7:40 am
JNB
-
ORD
25h 10m2 stops
Ethiopian Air Logo
9:45 am - 8:10 pm
ORD
-
JNB
26h 25m1 stop
$926Ethiopian Air
Mon, Feb 9 - Mon, Feb 23
SWISS Logo
8:10 pm - 12:45 pm
CPT
-
ORD
24h 35m1 stop
SWISS Logo
4:10 pm - 7:30 am
ORD
-
CPT
31h 20m1 stop
$928SWISS
Thu, Feb 19 - Thu, Feb 26
Delta Logo
9:30 pm - 5:37 pm
CPT
-
MDW
28h 07m2 stops
Delta Logo
1:49 pm - 7:15 pm
MDW
-
CPT
21h 26m2 stops
$1,011Delta
Thu, Mar 26 - Mon, Apr 6
Delta Logo
9:30 pm - 6:49 pm
CPT
-
ORD
28h 19m1 stop
Delta Logo
5:20 am - 5:50 pm
ORD
-
CPT
29h 30m1 stop
$1,012Delta
Sat, Feb 21 - Sat, Feb 28
KLM Logo
11:59 pm - 6:40 pm
JNB
-
MDW
26h 41m2 stops
KLM Logo
11:45 am - 10:05 pm
MDW
-
JNB
26h 20m2 stops
$1,306KLM
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 $954 on average for one-way flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are July and January, where the average cost of tickets from South Africa is $1,195 and $1,195 respectively. For return trips, the best month to travel is February with an average price of $954.

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 46 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 $165.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$595
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 3% 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.

  • 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.

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

    Each week there are around 7,955 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 3 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 8031 reviews
8.5Crew
7.8Entertainment
7.9Comfort
7.2Food
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

It was Delta, but the flight attendants were stressful and disrespectful. I am a diamond member a travel weekly. I have not had a negative thing to share in quite some time. But this was noticeable.

2.0 MediocreWilliam, Jan 2026
LGA - BOS
Read more Delta reviews

It was Delta, but the flight attendants were stressful and disrespectful. I am a diamond member a travel weekly. I have not had a negative thing to share in quite some time. But this was noticeable.

Comfort Plus seat 11E seemed smaller than prior flights. The movie selection is good. Watched most of the most recent Tron movie. I'll watch the remaining part later as my movie is saved in the Delta Seatback Experience.

Flight was late from Newark to Atlanta, I asked flight attendant to please let my family of 3 out first when we landed to Atlanta because we were late for our connecting flight to Quito. She didn't and we were late for 5 minutes we couldn't board the plane and spend hours trying to get another flight with customer service for the next day.

I really liked the legroom. I am 6’4”.a at For some reason our seats were not together and using the app to fix it didn’t work. Passengers were nice enough to move for us but you should absolutely ensure a parent sits with their child.

Late delayed flight delays boarding and delays leaving and delays on arrival too. Cramped plane no room no food.

DTW line is too long. The flights from DTW to BWI are always delayed for unknown reasons.

Delta canceled our flight and we had to scramble to find another airline to get home. Phoenix is not a delta hub so they didn’t have another plane. It would have been a red eye though Salt Lake City. Getting in at 5am. No bueno.

This flight was no comparison to our prior flight. I'm thinking it all has to do with the age of the aircraft.

This flight was a first class choice and left much to be desired. Seat backs on seats were falling apart and torn. Seats actually didn't come to a "full & upright position". Pull out table was sprung. Not any significant leg room. All in all we were on an obviously older plane and felt overcharged for what we received as first class.

Flight was delayed several times. At one point, they "pulled back" 15 minutes from the delayed boarding and sent a text saying we would board sooner than previously advised. The flight then was delayed again. And when we boarded, there was an unspecified technical issue which had us waiting in the plane for about an hour.

Delay on my previous leg, had to run to catch my flight. But that happens. Overall ok.

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.

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

The flight crew was kind, flexible, and accommodating. The seats on the plane were extremely uncomfortable.

Check-in experience, for business call please provide a premium experience

Lost my luggage, ran out of food choices in business class, ground crew was completely unapologetic.

Excellent. The crew and flight were great. Checking in was easy and everyone was very helpful.

Entertainment devices on A380 need to be fixed, the seats might do with updates.

Everything. Employees offered to help me because I had to use a cane.

Check-in and boarding were great. On flight staff were rude and disrespectful. Paid for extra room and found it incredibly cramped. Bathrooms kept in poor condition. Overall negative experience.

Great seat in premium economy, great food and drinks throughout lots of in flight entertainment. 1 hour 40 min delayed flying out , 2 1/2 hour wait at passport control in tampa

Plane was extremely delayed, but not all of it was BA fault (some was). Worst part was lack of room - this had as much space as an Allegiant flight. I thought transatlantic usually gave you an extra inch or two, but not this one. Entertainment system sporadically worked and didn’t have great options. Overhead bins are old and tiny, not as good as aunties new planes.

My seat cushion was poor. The cushion was compressed and was uncomfortable for such a long flight.

Traveling to a place near Chicago?

Book flights to Chicago if you plan to visit one of these locations
Merrillville
Saint Joseph
Hammond
Portage
Lansing
Valparaiso
Chesterton
Schererville
Munster
Porter
Monticello
Saint John
Griffith

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.