Historical on-time performance
Santa Ana to Sacramento
404 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SNA–SMF arrive on time 85% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate85%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay25 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.9%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-time85%Medianon timep9025 minCancel0.9%Flights2,319
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline24%
- Weather0%
- Air traffic (NAS)6%
- Late aircraft70%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline70%
- Weather20%
- Air traffic (NAS)10%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. 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 SNA → SMF
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 — 95% on time.
- Mornings95% on time · p90 5 min · 1,851 flights
- Middays87% on time · p90 15 min · 1,708 flights
- Overnights77% on time · p90 30 min · 547 flights
- Evenings77% on time · p90 40 min · 1,531 flights
- Afternoons76% on time · p90 35 min · 1,125 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 78% to 89% on time.
- Tuesdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 910 flights
- Saturdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 596 flights
- Wednesdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 914 flights
- Mondays86% on time · p90 20 min · 1,089 flights
- Thursdays82% on time · p90 30 min · 1,091 flights
- Fridays80% on time · p90 30 min · 1,095 flights
- Sundays78% on time · p90 30 min · 1,067 flights
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