Route · PHL → SFO · 2020–2025 BTS data
Philadelphia to San Francisco
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), PHL to SFO (Philadelphia to San Francisco) ranks #1776 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 79.7%
- On-time
- +0.7 pts
- vs US avg
- 70 min
- Delay when late
- 7,132
- Flights
- #1776 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.8%
Best Month
Sep 2025 87%
Worst Month
May 2024 64%
Distance
2,521 mi
Carriers
3
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 159 | 56 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Nov 2025 | 147 | 21 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Oct 2025 | 180 | 35 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Sep 2025 | 167 | 21 | 0 | 1 | UA,AA |
| Aug 2025 | 167 | 46 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jul 2025 | 182 | 56 | 4 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jun 2025 | 150 | 49 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
| May 2025 | 152 | 31 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Apr 2025 | 141 | 22 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Mar 2025 | 136 | 32 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Feb 2025 | 99 | 31 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jan 2025 | 117 | 23 | 0 | 1 | AA,UA |
| Dec 2024 | 139 | 36 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Nov 2024 | 131 | 41 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Oct 2024 | 137 | 27 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Sep 2024 | 136 | 34 | 0 | 1 | UA,AA |
| Aug 2024 | 131 | 40 | 5 | 2 | AA,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 119 | 29 | 4 | 1 | AA,UA |
| Jun 2024 | 94 | 21 | 2 | 1 | AA,UA |
| May 2024 | 123 | 44 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Apr 2024 | 117 | 39 | 0 | 1 | AA,UA |
| Mar 2024 | 93 | 20 | 0 | 1 | AA,UA |
| Feb 2024 | 81 | 20 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jan 2024 | 94 | 21 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
PHL–SFO seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (85.3%) · weakest: June (73.0%)
Strongest calendar month
November
85.3% on-time · ~107 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
October
~132 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
June
73.0% on-time · ~102 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.8%
27 of 3,192 flights
Diversion Rate
0.3%
9 of 3,192 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
PHL - Philadelphia
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Philadelphia, PA.
PHL on-time profileSFO - San Francisco
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for San Francisco, CA.
SFO on-time profileCompare the two airports
See PHL and SFO side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare PHL vs SFOOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among PHL departures
From PHL, this corridor sits with 60 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 65 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (4 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 1 below 75%). Destination: San Francisco · fleet on-time rank #3281 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to PHL–SFO.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About PHL to SFO
7,132 tracked flights put the PHL to SFO pairing (Philadelphia to San Francisco) at a 79.7% on-time rate, squarely in line with the wider network. Delays that do occur run 69.9 minutes on average. Across the 2,521-mile route and its 3 carriers, the trailing 24 months show 0.8% cancelled and 0.3% diverted (3,192 flights sampled).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Sep 2025 posted the strongest performance at 87% on-time, while May 2024 came in at just 64% - a 23-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, PHL–SFO peaks in November at 85.3% on-time while October carries the heaviest traffic (~132 flights per month) ; the softest month is June at 73.0%, a 12.3-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does PHL to SFO rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from PHL to SFO? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for PHL to SFO? ▼
How far is the flight from PHL to SFO? ▼
When is the best time to fly from PHL to SFO? ▼
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 PHL–SFO data
PHL–SFO is mid-pack at 79.7% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare PHL and SFO airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. PHL airport
- If your dates flex, November (85.3% on-time) beats June (73.0%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 79.7% 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.