Los Angeles to Sacramento

What the Data Says About LAX to SMF

The Los Angeles to Sacramento corridor (LAX → SMF) covers roughly 373 miles and is served by 18 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 27,970 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 87.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 65.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 10,798 flights were recorded on this pairing — 29 cancelled (0.3%) and 7 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 18 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 27,970 total flights analyzed, the 87.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 65.9-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, Jan 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 80% on-time — a 12-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LAX to SMF route, the combination of a 87.2% on-time rate, 65.9-minute average delay, 0.3% recent cancellation rate, and 18 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.