Historical on-time performance
Washington to San Francisco
Flights on IAD–SFO arrive on time 78% of the time over the last 12 months.
based on 2,828 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
Not enough comparable data to name a most-on-time carrier — low-data carriers aren't ranked.
- United AirlinesOn-time79%Medianon timep9045 minCancel0.9%Flights2,669
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time66%Medianon timep9075 minCancel0.6%Flights159
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline32%
- Weather6%
- Air traffic (NAS)31%
- Late aircraft30%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline54%
- Weather46%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 24 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 IAD → SFO
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
On-time rates are fairly even by time of day on this route — ranging from 64% to 84% on time.
- Mornings84% on time · p90 20 min · 2,749 flights
- Middays83% on time · p90 30 min · 1,099 flights
- Overnights81% on time · p90 35 min · 1,122 flights
- Afternoons80% on time · p90 40 min · 1,337 flights
- Evenings64% on time · p90 75 min · 1,968 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 76% to 82% on time.
- Tuesdays82% on time · p90 35 min · 1,128 flights
- Wednesdays80% on time · p90 40 min · 1,142 flights
- Saturdays78% on time · p90 40 min · 1,146 flights
- Thursdays77% on time · p90 40 min · 1,212 flights
- Mondays77% on time · p90 45 min · 1,212 flights
- Sundays77% on time · p90 45 min · 1,218 flights
- Fridays76% on time · p90 45 min · 1,217 flights
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