Historical on-time performance
Sacramento to Long Beach
387 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SMF–LGB arrive on time 85% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate85%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay20 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.3%of scheduled flights
based on 1,917 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time85%Medianon timep9020 minCancel0.3%Flights1,917
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline22%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)11%
- Late aircraft66%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline50%
- Weather33%
- Air traffic (NAS)17%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 6 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 → LGB
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 · 1,883 flights
- Middays89% on time · p90 15 min · 1,345 flights
- Afternoons80% on time · p90 25 min · 1,077 flights
- Evenings79% on time · p90 30 min · 1,459 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 81% to 91% on time.
- Tuesdays91% on time · p90 10 min · 848 flights
- Wednesdays90% on time · p90 10 min · 848 flights
- Saturdays87% on time · p90 20 min · 669 flights
- Mondays85% on time · p90 20 min · 884 flights
- Sundays84% on time · p90 25 min · 752 flights
- Thursdays83% on time · p90 30 min · 880 flights
- Fridays81% on time · p90 25 min · 883 flights
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