Historical on-time performance
Sacramento to Santa Ana
404 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SMF–SNA arrive on time 84% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate84%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay20 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.6%of scheduled flights
based on 2,319 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time84%Medianon timep9020 minCancel0.6%Flights2,319
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline26%
- Weather0%
- Air traffic (NAS)6%
- Late aircraft68%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline86%
- Weather7%
- Air traffic (NAS)7%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 14 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 → SNA
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 — 93% on time.
- Mornings93% on time · p90 5 min · 1,924 flights
- Middays86% on time · p90 20 min · 1,538 flights
- Overnights84% on time · p90 20 min · 624 flights
- Evenings80% on time · p90 30 min · 1,399 flights
- Afternoons79% on time · p90 30 min · 1,278 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 82% to 90% on time.
- Tuesdays90% on time · p90 10 min · 910 flights
- Wednesdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 914 flights
- Saturdays88% on time · p90 15 min · 596 flights
- Mondays86% on time · p90 20 min · 1,089 flights
- Sundays84% on time · p90 20 min · 1,067 flights
- Thursdays82% on time · p90 25 min · 1,092 flights
- Fridays82% on time · p90 25 min · 1,095 flights
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