Historical on-time performance
San Francisco to Philadelphia
2,521 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SFO–PHL arrive on time 84% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate84%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay20 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.7%of scheduled flights
based on 1,771 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- American AirlinesOn-time82%Medianon timep9025 minCancel1.0%Flights1,168
- United AirlinesbestOn-time88%Medianon timep9015 minCancel0.0%Flights603
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline31%
- Weather0%
- Air traffic (NAS)17%
- Late aircraft52%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly SFO → PHL
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-01 .. 2025-12).
Best time of day
Afternoons are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 92% on time.
- Afternoons92% on time · p90 5 min · 83 flights · limited
- Overnights83% on time · p90 20 min · 1,743 flights
- Mornings83% on time · p90 25 min · 1,926 flights
- Early mornings80% on time · p90 25 min · 104 flights · limited
- Middays74% on time · p90 35 min · 719 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 80% to 84% on time.
- Wednesdays84% on time · p90 20 min · 639 flights
- Tuesdays83% on time · p90 20 min · 629 flights
- Fridays83% on time · p90 25 min · 672 flights
- Mondays82% on time · p90 25 min · 679 flights
- Saturdays81% on time · p90 25 min · 611 flights
- Thursdays80% on time · p90 25 min · 666 flights
- Sundays80% on time · p90 30 min · 679 flights
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