Historical on-time performance
Los Angeles to Sacramento
373 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on LAX–SMF arrive on time 85% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate85%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay25 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.4%of scheduled flights
based on 5,373 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- SkyWest AirlinesbestOn-time87%Medianon timep9020 minCancel0.4%Flights3,492
- Frontier AirlinesOn-time83%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.0%Flights30
- United AirlinesOn-time82%Medianon timep9025 minCancel0.0%Flights157
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time80%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.2%Flights1,603
- Delta Air LinesOn-time57%Median5 minp9090 minCancel1.1%Flights91
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline48%
- Weather9%
- Air traffic (NAS)5%
- Late aircraft37%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline16%
- Weather63%
- Air traffic (NAS)21%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. 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 LAX → 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 — 93% on time.
- Mornings93% on time · p90 5 min · 4,179 flights
- Middays88% on time · p90 15 min · 3,213 flights
- Afternoons84% on time · p90 30 min · 2,844 flights
- Evenings83% on time · p90 30 min · 2,598 flights
- Overnights79% on time · p90 40 min · 3,102 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 82% to 90% on time.
- Tuesdays90% on time · p90 10 min · 2,236 flights
- Wednesdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 2,244 flights
- Saturdays88% on time · p90 20 min · 1,913 flights
- Thursdays85% on time · p90 25 min · 2,410 flights
- Mondays84% on time · p90 30 min · 2,400 flights
- Fridays84% on time · p90 25 min · 2,409 flights
- Sundays82% on time · p90 35 min · 2,324 flights
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