Route · SAN → SMF · 2020–2025 BTS data
San Diego to Sacramento
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SAN to SMF (San Diego to Sacramento) ranks #122 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 81.6%
- On-time
- +2.6 pts
- vs US avg
- 55 min
- Delay when late
- 30,295
- Flights
- #122 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.8%
Best Month
Jan 2025 87%
Worst Month
Oct 2024 69%
Distance
480 mi
Carriers
15
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 398 | 116 | 7 | 0 | WN,AS,OO |
| Nov 2025 | 441 | 101 | 15 | 0 | OO,AS,WN |
| Oct 2025 | 421 | 99 | 0 | 0 | AS,OO,WN |
| Sep 2025 | 416 | 77 | 4 | 1 | WN,OO |
| Aug 2025 | 442 | 98 | 1 | 0 | OO,WN |
| Jul 2025 | 465 | 130 | 2 | 0 | OO,WN |
| Jun 2025 | 449 | 122 | 5 | 0 | OO,WN |
| May 2025 | 444 | 92 | 1 | 0 | OO,WN |
| Apr 2025 | 430 | 92 | 4 | 0 | OO,WN |
| Mar 2025 | 427 | 110 | 3 | 2 | OO,WN,F9 |
| Feb 2025 | 366 | 65 | 1 | 0 | OO,WN,F9 |
| Jan 2025 | 391 | 51 | 7 | 2 | OO,WN,F9 |
| Dec 2024 | 443 | 132 | 13 | 1 | F9,NK,OO,WN |
| Nov 2024 | 463 | 108 | 0 | 0 | OO,NK,WN,F9 |
| Oct 2024 | 495 | 154 | 9 | 0 | OO,WN,NK,F9 |
| Sep 2024 | 468 | 123 | 0 | 0 | WN,OO,F9,NK |
| Aug 2024 | 501 | 106 | 2 | 0 | F9,NK,WN,OO |
| Jul 2024 | 492 | 153 | 1 | 0 | NK,OO,WN |
| Jun 2024 | 474 | 140 | 4 | 0 | NK,OO,WN |
| May 2024 | 463 | 70 | 0 | 0 | NK,OO,WN |
| Apr 2024 | 448 | 80 | 2 | 1 | NK,OO,WN |
| Mar 2024 | 427 | 95 | 1 | 0 | OO,WN |
| Feb 2024 | 377 | 64 | 3 | 0 | OO,WN |
| Jan 2024 | 409 | 83 | 2 | 0 | WN,OO |
SAN–SMF seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (87.9%) · weakest: July (76.5%)
Strongest calendar month
February
87.9% on-time · ~362 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
July
~463 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
July
76.5% on-time · ~463 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.8%
87 of 10,550 flights
Diversion Rate
0.1%
7 of 10,550 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 profileSMF - Sacramento
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Sacramento, CA.
SMF on-time profileCompare the two airports
See SAN and SMF side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SAN vs SMFOrigin-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: Sacramento · fleet on-time rank #2525 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SAN–SMF.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About SAN to SMF
30,295 tracked flights put the SAN to SMF pairing (San Diego to Sacramento) at a 81.6% on-time rate, squarely in line with the wider network. Delays that do occur run 55.3 minutes on average. Across the 480-mile route and its 15 carriers, the trailing 24 months show 0.8% cancelled and 0.1% diverted (10,550 flights sampled).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Jan 2025 posted the strongest performance at 87% on-time, while Oct 2024 came in at just 69% - a 18-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SAN–SMF peaks in February at 87.9% on-time while July carries the heaviest traffic (~463 flights per month) ; the softest month is July at 76.5%, a 11.4-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SAN to SMF rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SAN to SMF? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SAN to SMF? ▼
How far is the flight from SAN to SMF? ▼
When is the best time to fly from SAN to SMF? ▼
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–SMF data
SAN–SMF is mid-pack at 81.6% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare SAN and SMF airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SAN airport
- If your dates flex, February (87.9% on-time) beats July (76.5%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 81.6% 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.