Route · SAN → SFO · 2020–2025 BTS data
San Diego to San Francisco
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SAN to SFO (San Diego to San Francisco) ranks #75 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 77.3%
- On-time
- -1.7 pts
- vs US avg
- 62 min
- Delay when late
- 34,589
- Flights
- #75 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
1.3%
Best Month
Jan 2025 80%
Worst Month
Apr 2024 45%
Distance
447 mi
Carriers
26
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 485 | 152 | 5 | 0 | WN,F9,AS,UA,OO |
| Nov 2025 | 565 | 175 | 14 | 0 | OO,UA,F9,AS,WN |
| Oct 2025 | 662 | 225 | 9 | 2 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Sep 2025 | 581 | 152 | 11 | 0 | UA,WN,OO,F9,AS |
| Aug 2025 | 593 | 177 | 5 | 0 | OO,WN,F9,UA,AS |
| Jul 2025 | 582 | 208 | 6 | 0 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Jun 2025 | 578 | 183 | 2 | 0 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| May 2025 | 597 | 131 | 1 | 0 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Apr 2025 | 527 | 116 | 0 | 0 | F9,OO,UA,WN,AS |
| Mar 2025 | 541 | 167 | 5 | 2 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Feb 2025 | 454 | 129 | 5 | 0 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Jan 2025 | 523 | 103 | 5 | 0 | AS,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Dec 2024 | 595 | 216 | 13 | 0 | AS,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Nov 2024 | 586 | 212 | 3 | 5 | OO,UA,WN,AS,F9 |
| Oct 2024 | 578 | 222 | 9 | 0 | UA,AS,OO,WN,F9 |
| Sep 2024 | 574 | 179 | 2 | 0 | WN,OO,UA,AS,F9 |
| Aug 2024 | 568 | 131 | 1 | 1 | AS,F9,WN,OO,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 540 | 141 | 14 | 0 | AS,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Jun 2024 | 428 | 175 | 0 | 2 | AS,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| May 2024 | 529 | 262 | 5 | 7 | AS,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Apr 2024 | 549 | 304 | 10 | 2 | AS,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Mar 2024 | 517 | 269 | 3 | 6 | AS,OO,UA,WN |
| Feb 2024 | 441 | 212 | 9 | 3 | OO,UA,WN |
| Jan 2024 | 459 | 126 | 29 | 0 | WN,OO,UA |
SAN–SFO seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (80.3%) · weakest: June (73.9%)
Strongest calendar month
September
80.3% on-time · ~497 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
October
~518 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
June
73.9% on-time · ~458 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
1.3%
166 of 13,052 flights
Diversion Rate
0.2%
30 of 13,052 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
SAN - San Diego
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for San Diego, CA.
SAN 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 SAN and SFO side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SAN vs SFOOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among SAN departures
From SAN, this corridor sits with 34 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 51 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (13 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 4 below 75%). Destination: San Francisco · fleet on-time rank #4031 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SAN–SFO.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About SAN to SFO
The San Diego to San Francisco corridor (SAN to SFO) posts a 77.3% on-time rate on the lower edge of the average band, based on 34,589 tracked flights. Late flights run 62.0 minutes behind on average. 26 carriers cover the 447-mile route; over the last 24 months, 166 of 13,052 flights were cancelled (1.3%) and 0.2% diverted.
The monthly split is wide on this route: Jan 2025 posted the strongest performance at 80% on-time, while Apr 2024 came in at just 45% - a 36-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SAN–SFO peaks in September at 80.3% on-time while October carries the heaviest traffic (~518 flights per month) ; the softest month is June at 73.9%, a 6.4-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SAN to SFO rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SAN to SFO? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SAN to SFO? ▼
How far is the flight from SAN to SFO? ▼
When is the best time to fly from SAN 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 SAN–SFO data
SAN–SFO is mid-pack at 77.3% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare SAN and SFO airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SAN airport
- If your dates flex, September (80.3% on-time) beats June (73.9%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 77.3% 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.