Seattle to Oakland

What the Data Says About SEA to OAK

The Seattle to Oakland corridor (SEA → OAK) covers roughly 672 miles and is served by 19 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 14,279 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 53.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,177 flights were recorded on this pairing — 29 cancelled (0.7%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 19 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 14,279 total flights analyzed, the 80.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 53.2-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 84% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SEA to OAK route, the combination of a 80.1% on-time rate, 53.2-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 19 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.