Bakersfield to Phoenix

What the Data Says About BFL to PHX

The Bakersfield to Phoenix corridor (BFL → PHX) covers roughly 425 miles and is served by 17 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,365 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86% on-time rate with an average delay of 94.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,468 flights were recorded on this pairing — 13 cancelled (0.5%) and 3 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 17 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 6,365 total flights analyzed, the 86% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 94.3-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Nov 2025 came in at 75% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the BFL to PHX route, the combination of a 86% on-time rate, 94.3-minute average delay, 0.5% recent cancellation rate, and 17 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.