Route · SBA → SFO · 2020–2025 BTS data
Santa Barbara to San Francisco
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SBA to SFO (Santa Barbara to San Francisco) ranks #1718 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 79.2%
- On-time
- +0.2 pts
- vs US avg
- 81 min
- Delay when late
- 7,381
- Flights
- #1718 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
1.8%
Best Month
Sep 2024 90%
Worst Month
Feb 2024 40%
Distance
262 mi
Carriers
3
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 118 | 35 | 2 | 0 | UA,OO |
| Nov 2025 | 146 | 64 | 7 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Oct 2025 | 142 | 48 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Sep 2025 | 132 | 30 | 1 | 0 | UA,OO |
| Aug 2025 | 111 | 36 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jul 2025 | 123 | 49 | 5 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jun 2025 | 120 | 41 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| May 2025 | 153 | 47 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Apr 2025 | 145 | 37 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Mar 2025 | 116 | 31 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Feb 2025 | 91 | 18 | 3 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jan 2025 | 80 | 10 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Dec 2024 | 91 | 15 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Nov 2024 | 117 | 39 | 0 | 1 | OO,UA |
| Oct 2024 | 120 | 21 | 1 | 0 | UA,OO |
| Sep 2024 | 115 | 11 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Aug 2024 | 122 | 13 | 2 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 123 | 24 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jun 2024 | 60 | 9 | 5 | 0 | OO,UA |
| May 2024 | 84 | 24 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Apr 2024 | 82 | 47 | 3 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Mar 2024 | 92 | 46 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Feb 2024 | 87 | 52 | 9 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jan 2024 | 93 | 27 | 3 | 0 | OO,UA |
SBA–SFO seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (83.3%) · weakest: December (73.7%)
Strongest calendar month
September
83.3% on-time · ~115 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
August
~115 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
December
73.7% on-time · ~89 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
1.8%
48 of 2,663 flights
Diversion Rate
0.0%
1 of 2,663 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
SBA - Santa Barbara
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Santa Barbara, CA.
SBA 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 SBA and SFO side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SBA vs SFOOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among SBA departures
From SBA, this corridor sits with 6 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 12 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (6 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 0 below 75%). Destination: San Francisco · fleet on-time rank #3452 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SBA–SFO.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About SBA to SFO
7,381 tracked flights put the SBA to SFO pairing (Santa Barbara to San Francisco) at a 79.2% on-time rate, squarely in line with the wider network. Delays that do occur run 81.0 minutes on average. Across the 262-mile route and its 3 carriers, the trailing 24 months show 1.8% cancelled and 0.0% diverted (2,663 flights sampled).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Sep 2024 posted the strongest performance at 90% on-time, while Feb 2024 came in at just 40% - a 50-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SBA–SFO peaks in September at 83.3% on-time while August carries the heaviest traffic (~115 flights per month) ; the softest month is December at 73.7%, a 9.6-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SBA to SFO rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SBA to SFO? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SBA to SFO? ▼
How far is the flight from SBA to SFO? ▼
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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 SBA–SFO data
SBA–SFO is mid-pack at 79.2% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare SBA and SFO airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SBA airport
- If your dates flex, September (83.3% on-time) beats December (73.7%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 79.2% 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.