Historical on-time performance
San Francisco to San Diego
447 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SFO–SAN arrive on time 67% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate67%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay60 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.0%of scheduled flights
based on 6,244 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time88%Medianon timep9015 minCancel0.0%Flights182
- United AirlinesbestOn-time76%Medianon timep9040 minCancel0.5%Flights2,585
- SkyWest AirlinesOn-time66%Medianon timep9060 minCancel1.9%Flights1,561
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time55%Median5 minp9080 minCancel1.1%Flights1,886
- Frontier AirlinesOn-time50%Median10 minp9095 minCancel6.7%Flights30
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline21%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)28%
- Late aircraft49%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline22%
- Weather22%
- Air traffic (NAS)56%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS). Shares are among 63 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 SFO → SAN
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 20 min · 5,404 flights
- Overnights72% on time · p90 60 min · 2,180 flights
- Afternoons67% on time · p90 60 min · 3,244 flights
- Evenings65% on time · p90 60 min · 3,445 flights
- Middays64% on time · p90 60 min · 4,956 flights
Best day of week
Tuesdays are the most reliable day to fly this route — 81% on time.
- Tuesdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 2,613 flights
- Saturdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 2,219 flights
- Wednesdays75% on time · p90 45 min · 2,610 flights
- Mondays69% on time · p90 55 min · 2,961 flights
- Sundays68% on time · p90 55 min · 2,844 flights
- Thursdays68% on time · p90 65 min · 2,984 flights
- Fridays65% on time · p90 65 min · 2,998 flights
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