Route · IAH → SMF · 2020–2025 BTS data
Houston to Sacramento
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), IAH to SMF (Houston to Sacramento) ranks #3339 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 78.8%
- On-time
- -0.2 pts
- vs US avg
- 70 min
- Delay when late
- 2,923
- Flights
- #3339 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.9%
Best Month
Apr 2025 88%
Worst Month
Jul 2024 53%
Distance
1,609 mi
Carriers
5
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 45 | 10 | 0 | 1 | UA |
| Nov 2025 | 60 | 10 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Oct 2025 | 55 | 14 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Sep 2025 | 58 | 10 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Aug 2025 | 60 | 16 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jul 2025 | 61 | 14 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jun 2025 | 60 | 19 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| May 2025 | 59 | 11 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Apr 2025 | 56 | 7 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Mar 2025 | 54 | 12 | 0 | 1 | UA |
| Feb 2025 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jan 2025 | 49 | 17 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Dec 2024 | 44 | 13 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Nov 2024 | 50 | 9 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Oct 2024 | 54 | 15 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Sep 2024 | 54 | 12 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Aug 2024 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jul 2024 | 58 | 27 | 3 | 0 | UA |
| Jun 2024 | 60 | 18 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| May 2024 | 61 | 28 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Apr 2024 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 1 | UA |
| Mar 2024 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jan 2024 | 31 | 12 | 5 | 0 | UA |
| Dec 2023 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | UA |
IAH–SMF seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (93.7%) · weakest: July (65.8%)
Strongest calendar month
February
93.7% on-time · ~53 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
February
~53 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
July
65.8% on-time · ~52 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.9%
11 of 1,230 flights
Diversion Rate
0.2%
3 of 1,230 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
IAH - Houston
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Houston, TX.
IAH on-time profileSMF - Sacramento
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Sacramento, CA.
SMF on-time profileCompare the two airports
See IAH and SMF side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare IAH vs SMFOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among IAH departures
From IAH, this corridor sits with 79 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 102 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (17 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 6 below 75%). Destination: Sacramento · fleet on-time rank #3581 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to IAH–SMF.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About IAH to SMF
2,923 tracked flights put the IAH to SMF pairing (Houston to Sacramento) at a 78.8% on-time rate, squarely in line with the wider network. Delays that do occur run 70.0 minutes on average. Across the 1,609-mile route and its 5 carriers, the trailing 24 months show 0.9% cancelled and 0.2% diverted (1,230 flights sampled).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Apr 2025 posted the strongest performance at 88% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at just 53% - a 34-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, IAH–SMF peaks in February at 93.7% on-time ; the softest month is July at 65.8%, a 27.9-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does IAH to SMF rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from IAH to SMF? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for IAH to SMF? ▼
How far is the flight from IAH to SMF? ▼
When is the best time to fly from IAH to SMF? ▼
Airports on this route
Data source
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data. Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Using IAH–SMF data
IAH–SMF is mid-pack at 78.8% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare IAH and SMF airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. IAH airport
- If your dates flex, February (93.7% on-time) beats July (65.8%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 78.8% on-time rate; compare before you commit to this pairing. Similar routes
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers on this origin–destination pair, not any single flight or booking recommendation.
Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates this specific route's on-time performance and monthly trend, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.