Flight profile · United Airlines
UA490
Chicago (ORD) to San Antonio (SAT) · scheduled 8:45 AM – 12:24 PM
How UA490 performs
332 operations, 2025-05-23 to 2026-06-30.
UA490 arrived on time 87.0% of the time, against 74.8% for all ORD → SAT flights — this specific departure is 12.2 percentage points better than the route as a whole. Against United Airlines’s own flights on this route it is 11.3 points better.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · 332 operations between 2025-05-23 to 2026-06-30
Against the rest of the route
| On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe | Flights | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UA490 | 87.0% | 0.30% | -11 min | 3.3% | 332 |
| United Airlines on ORD → SAT | 75.7% | 0.74% | -4 min | 8.7% | 2,288 |
| All ORD → SAT flights | 74.8% | 1.31% | -5 min | 9.5% | 4,967 |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · 2025-05-23 to 2026-06-30
Other routes UA490 has flown
A flight number is a slot in a schedule, and carriers reassign it. These are the other city pairs this number served in the analysis period.
| Route | Operated | Flights | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLE→ORD Cleveland to Chicago | 2025-12-02 – 2026-06-30 | 205 | 85.3% |
| ORD→DCA Chicago to Washington | 2024-05-23 – 2026-06-24 | 37 | — |
| SAT→DEN San Antonio to Denver | 2025-08-19 – 2026-03-04 | 105 | 88.5% |
| ORD→SNA Chicago to Santa Ana | 2025-10-27 – 2025-12-01 | 35 | — |
| BNA→SFO Nashville to San Francisco | 2025-10-26 – 2025-10-26 | 1 | — |
| ORD→ROC Chicago to Rochester | 2025-05-22 – 2025-05-22 | 1 | — |
| CLE→LAX Cleveland to Los Angeles | 2025-03-30 – 2025-05-21 | 20 | — |
| ORD→DEN Chicago to Denver | 2025-04-01 – 2025-04-30 | 30 | — |
| SFO→MCO San Francisco to Orlando | 2025-03-06 – 2025-03-29 | 18 | — |
| ORD→SMF Chicago to Sacramento | 2024-09-26 – 2024-10-26 | 31 | — |
| AUS→EWR Austin to Newark | 2024-08-19 – 2024-09-25 | 33 | — |
| EWR→BNA Newark to Nashville | 2024-07-01 – 2024-08-18 | 29 | — |
| BNA→EWR Nashville to Newark | 2024-06-27 – 2024-06-30 | 3 | — |
| ORD→IAH Chicago to Houston | 2024-04-01 – 2024-05-01 | 31 | — |
| EWR→JAX Newark to Jacksonville | 2024-03-31 – 2024-03-31 | 1 | — |
| ORD→MTJ Chicago to Montrose | 2024-03-09 – 2024-03-30 | 4 | — |
| EWR→ORD Newark to Chicago | 2024-03-07 – 2024-03-29 | 20 | — |
| EWR→CLE Newark to Cleveland | 2024-02-15 – 2024-03-06 | 21 | — |
| EWR→MIA Newark to Miami | 2024-01-09 – 2024-02-14 | 37 | — |
| RSW→ORD Fort Myers to Chicago | 2023-11-30 – 2024-01-08 | 32 | — |
| SEA→EWR Seattle to Newark | 2023-12-24 – 2023-12-31 | 2 | — |
| IAH→RDU Houston to Raleigh–Durham | 2023-12-20 – 2023-12-20 | 1 | — |
| EUG→SFO Eugene to San Francisco | 2023-10-29 – 2023-11-27 | 30 | — |
Because the same number has served different journeys, the statistics above describe only the route UA490 currently operates. Blending them would produce an average of two different flights.
Why UA490 runs late
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on this flight.
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding, fuelling — within the carrier’s control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for UA490 on ORD → SAT. A single late flight can carry more than one cause, and only delays of fifteen minutes or more are attributed at all.
Other departures on ORD → SAT
Same airports, same journey — and not the same odds of arriving on time.
| Flight | Airline | On time | Median arrival | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA431 | American Airlines | 65.0% | 0 min early | 784 |
Every departure listed carries at least 600 operations, so the comparison is between figures that mean something. Schedules change; confirm the departure still operates before booking around this.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 332 records of UA490 operating ORD → SAT, published by the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from the on-time rate and reported separately. Flight numbers are resolved as carrier plus number plus route, because the same number serves different routes over time.