Phoenix to Sacramento

What the Data Says About PHX to SMF

The Phoenix to Sacramento corridor (PHX → SMF) covers roughly 647 miles and is served by 27 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 19,441 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 61.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,379 flights were recorded on this pairing — 16 cancelled (0.2%) and 5 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 27 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 19,441 total flights analyzed, the 82.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 61.2-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 89% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 70% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the PHX to SMF route, the combination of a 82.2% on-time rate, 61.2-minute average delay, 0.2% recent cancellation rate, and 27 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.