Historical on-time performance
Chicago to Sacramento
Flights on ORD–SMF arrive on time 67% of the time over the last 12 months.
based on 1,306 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
Too close to call — no single carrier is clearly more on-time here.
- United AirlinesOn-time69%Medianon timep9060 minCancel0.7%Flights988
- American AirlinesOn-time63%Medianon timep9065 minCancel1.6%Flights318
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline33%
- Weather7%
- Air traffic (NAS)15%
- Late aircraft45%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline0%
- Weather100%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 12 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 ORD → 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 — 85% on time.
- Mornings85% on time · p90 20 min · 1,306 flights
- Middays75% on time · p90 50 min · 272 flights
- Afternoons74% on time · p90 60 min · 705 flights
- Evenings66% on time · p90 60 min · 408 flights
- Overnights61% on time · p90 70 min · 950 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 69% to 78% on time.
- Mondays78% on time · p90 40 min · 530 flights
- Tuesdays78% on time · p90 50 min · 499 flights
- Wednesdays75% on time · p90 50 min · 510 flights
- Saturdays73% on time · p90 50 min · 506 flights
- Sundays72% on time · p90 50 min · 535 flights
- Thursdays72% on time · p90 50 min · 528 flights
- Fridays69% on time · p90 60 min · 533 flights
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