Phoenix to Oakland

What the Data Says About PHX to OAK

The Phoenix to Oakland corridor (PHX → OAK) covers roughly 646 miles and is served by 9 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,486 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 53.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,032 flights were recorded on this pairing — 9 cancelled (0.2%) and 2 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 9 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,486 total flights analyzed, the 79.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 53.5-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 69% on-time — a 22-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the PHX to OAK route, the combination of a 79.6% on-time rate, 53.5-minute average delay, 0.2% recent cancellation rate, and 9 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.