Historical on-time performance
Portland to Sacramento
479 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on PDX–SMF arrive on time 82% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate82%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay30 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.2%of scheduled flights
based on 1,968 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Alaska AirlinesbestOn-time95%Medianon timep905 minCancel0.0%Flights261
- SkyWest AirlinesOn-time83%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.2%Flights505
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time79%Medianon timep9035 minCancel0.2%Flights1,202
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline24%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)7%
- Late aircraft68%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline50%
- Weather25%
- Air traffic (NAS)25%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 4 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 PDX → 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 — 94% on time.
- Mornings94% on time · p90 on time · 1,445 flights
- Middays87% on time · p90 20 min · 1,329 flights
- Afternoons81% on time · p90 25 min · 782 flights
- Evenings77% on time · p90 35 min · 1,004 flights
- Overnights70% on time · p90 55 min · 851 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 78% to 90% on time.
- Tuesdays90% on time · p90 10 min · 755 flights
- Wednesdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 759 flights
- Saturdays86% on time · p90 25 min · 514 flights
- Sundays82% on time · p90 30 min · 801 flights
- Mondays81% on time · p90 25 min · 847 flights
- Thursdays80% on time · p90 30 min · 865 flights
- Fridays78% on time · p90 35 min · 870 flights
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