Phoenix to San Diego

What the Data Says About PHX to SAN

The Phoenix to San Diego corridor (PHX → SAN) covers roughly 304 miles and is served by 12 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 28,975 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 61.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 11,355 flights were recorded on this pairing — 105 cancelled (0.9%) and 22 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 12 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 28,975 total flights analyzed, the 80.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 61.5-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, Jan 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 68% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the PHX to SAN route, the combination of a 80.2% on-time rate, 61.5-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 12 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.