Historical on-time performance
Houston to Sacramento
1,624 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on HOU–SMF arrive on time 73% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate73%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay45 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.0%of scheduled flights
based on 307 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time73%Medianon timep9045 minCancel0.0%Flights307
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline48%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)12%
- Late aircraft39%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline57%
- Weather43%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 7 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly HOU → SMF
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 92% on time.
- Mornings92% on time · p90 10 min · 197 flights · limited
- Middays80% on time · p90 25 min · 379 flights
- Afternoons66% on time · p90 60 min · 218 flights
- Evenings63% on time · p90 45 min · 144 flights · limited
- Overnights51% on time · p90 55 min · 112 flights · limited
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 68% to 84% on time.
- Tuesdays84% on time · p90 20 min · 151 flights · limited
- Fridays75% on time · p90 35 min · 151 flights · limited
- Wednesdays75% on time · p90 30 min · 151 flights · limited
- Thursdays72% on time · p90 45 min · 148 flights · limited
- Mondays71% on time · p90 45 min · 150 flights · limited
- Sundays71% on time · p90 35 min · 151 flights · limited
- Saturdays68% on time · p90 70 min · 148 flights · limited
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