Historical on-time performance
Sacramento to Los Angeles
373 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SMF–LAX arrive on time 86% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate86%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay20 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.4%of scheduled flights
based on 5,374 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Delta Air LinesOn-time97%Medianon timep90on timeCancel1.1%Flights91
- United AirlinesOn-time90%Medianon timep9010 minCancel0.0%Flights157
- SkyWest AirlinesbestOn-time89%Medianon timep9015 minCancel0.5%Flights3,491
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time78%Medianon timep9035 minCancel0.2%Flights1,605
- Frontier AirlinesOn-time70%Medianon timep9035 minCancel0.0%Flights30
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline41%
- Weather12%
- Air traffic (NAS)7%
- Late aircraft39%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline10%
- Weather65%
- Air traffic (NAS)25%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 20 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 → LAX
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 — 92% on time.
- Mornings92% on time · p90 5 min · 5,588 flights
- Middays90% on time · p90 10 min · 3,544 flights
- Afternoons82% on time · p90 30 min · 2,474 flights
- Evenings81% on time · p90 30 min · 3,114 flights
- Overnights76% on time · p90 40 min · 1,248 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 83% to 91% on time.
- Wednesdays91% on time · p90 10 min · 2,248 flights
- Tuesdays90% on time · p90 10 min · 2,234 flights
- Saturdays88% on time · p90 15 min · 1,924 flights
- Mondays86% on time · p90 20 min · 2,396 flights
- Thursdays86% on time · p90 20 min · 2,419 flights
- Fridays84% on time · p90 25 min · 2,423 flights
- Sundays83% on time · p90 30 min · 2,324 flights
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