Historical on-time performance
Sacramento to Seattle
605 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SMF–SEA arrive on time 82% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate82%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay25 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.3%of scheduled flights
based on 4,439 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- SkyWest AirlinesbestOn-time86%Medianon timep9020 minCancel0.3%Flights1,990
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time78%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.6%Flights1,280
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time78%Medianon timep9035 minCancel0.2%Flights1,169
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline39%
- Weather7%
- Air traffic (NAS)25%
- Late aircraft29%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline53%
- Weather40%
- Air traffic (NAS)7%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 15 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 → SEA
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 — 90% on time.
- Mornings90% on time · p90 10 min · 3,758 flights
- Middays86% on time · p90 20 min · 3,106 flights
- Afternoons79% on time · p90 30 min · 2,141 flights
- Evenings75% on time · p90 45 min · 2,230 flights
- Overnights72% on time · p90 40 min · 1,337 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 79% to 88% on time.
- Tuesdays88% on time · p90 15 min · 1,771 flights
- Wednesdays86% on time · p90 20 min · 1,784 flights
- Saturdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 1,414 flights
- Mondays82% on time · p90 25 min · 1,945 flights
- Thursdays80% on time · p90 30 min · 1,931 flights
- Fridays79% on time · p90 35 min · 1,945 flights
- Sundays79% on time · p90 30 min · 1,782 flights
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