Seattle to Palm Springs

What the Data Says About SEA to PSP

The Seattle to Palm Springs corridor (SEA → PSP) covers roughly 987 miles and is served by 16 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,562 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 55.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,325 flights were recorded on this pairing — 31 cancelled (0.9%) and 7 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 16 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,562 total flights analyzed, the 85.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 55.9-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 91% on-time, while Aug 2024 came in at 63% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SEA to PSP route, the combination of a 85.4% on-time rate, 55.9-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 16 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.