SMF → SAN: 73% on-time

Historical on-time performance

Sacramento to San Diego

480 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS

Flights on SMF–SAN arrive on time 73% of the time over the last 12 months.

On-time rate73%arrived within 15 min

p90 delay40 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)

Cancelled1.0%of scheduled flights

based on 5,139 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).

By airline

How each carrier compares

Airline	On-time	Median	p90	Cancel	Flights
Alaska Airlines⚠ low data	83%	on time	25 min	4.1%	121
SkyWest Airlinesbest	78%	on time	30 min	1.8%	1,196
Southwest Airlines	71%	on time	45 min	0.6%	3,822

Alaska Airlines
On-time83%
Medianon time
p9025 min
Cancel4.1%
Flights121
SkyWest Airlinesbest
On-time78%
Medianon time
p9030 min
Cancel1.8%
Flights1,196
Southwest Airlines
On-time71%
Medianon time
p9045 min
Cancel0.6%
Flights3,822

Why flights run late

Delay causes

Airline24%
Weather2%
Air traffic (NAS)27%
Late aircraft47%
Security0%

Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.

When flights don't go

Why flights were cancelled

Airline30%
Weather34%
Air traffic (NAS)36%
Security0%

Most cancellations here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS). Shares are among 50 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 → 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 — 87% on time.

Mornings87% on time · p90 15 min · 4,377 flights
Middays79% on time · p90 30 min · 4,217 flights
Afternoons71% on time · p90 45 min · 2,985 flights
Overnights69% on time · p90 50 min · 1,167 flights
Evenings66% on time · p90 50 min · 3,148 flights

Best day of week

On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 70% to 85% on time.

Tuesdays85% on time · p90 20 min · 2,105 flights
Wednesdays83% on time · p90 25 min · 2,093 flights
Saturdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 1,675 flights
Mondays77% on time · p90 35 min · 2,490 flights
Thursdays72% on time · p90 45 min · 2,492 flights
Sundays72% on time · p90 40 min · 2,520 flights
Fridays70% on time · p90 45 min · 2,519 flights

Keep exploring

Delay predictorfor this route→SMF airportSacramento→SAN airportSan Diego→Southwest Airlinesairline profile→SkyWest Airlinesairline profile→Alaska Airlinesairline profile→Seasonal delay patternsguide→