Historical on-time performance
Houston to San Francisco
1,635 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on IAH–SFO arrive on time 79% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate79%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay40 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.5%of scheduled flights
based on 3,595 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- United AirlinesOn-time79%Medianon timep9040 minCancel0.5%Flights3,595
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline29%
- Weather7%
- Air traffic (NAS)34%
- Late aircraft30%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS).
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline53%
- Weather47%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 19 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 IAH → SFO
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 — 86% on time.
- Mornings86% on time · p90 15 min · 2,563 flights
- Middays79% on time · p90 40 min · 1,702 flights
- Afternoons77% on time · p90 50 min · 2,217 flights
- Overnights70% on time · p90 55 min · 1,727 flights
- Evenings66% on time · p90 75 min · 1,806 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 73% to 82% on time.
- Tuesdays82% on time · p90 30 min · 1,403 flights
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,410 flights
- Wednesdays77% on time · p90 40 min · 1,439 flights
- Fridays76% on time · p90 50 min · 1,435 flights
- Thursdays74% on time · p90 50 min · 1,446 flights
- Sundays74% on time · p90 60 min · 1,446 flights
- Mondays73% on time · p90 60 min · 1,437 flights
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