Historical on-time performance
Sacramento to Washington
2,358 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SMF–IAD arrive on time 92% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate92%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay5 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.9%of scheduled flights
based on 337 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- United AirlinesOn-time92%Medianon timep905 minCancel0.9%Flights337
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline38%
- Weather0%
- Air traffic (NAS)59%
- Late aircraft2%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS).
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 3 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 SMF → IAD
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 — 91% on time.
- Mornings91% on time · p90 10 min · 754 flights
- Overnights76% on time · p90 60 min · 245 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 84% to 93% on time.
- Tuesdays93% on time · p90 10 min · 147 flights · limited
- Saturdays89% on time · p90 10 min · 139 flights · limited
- Fridays88% on time · p90 15 min · 149 flights · limited
- Wednesdays87% on time · p90 20 min · 139 flights · limited
- Thursdays87% on time · p90 20 min · 139 flights · limited
- Mondays84% on time · p90 25 min · 148 flights · limited
- Sundays84% on time · p90 20 min · 138 flights · limited
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