Seattle to Santa Ana

What the Data Says About SEA to SNA

The Seattle to Santa Ana corridor (SEA → SNA) covers roughly 978 miles and is served by 16 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 20,942 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 58.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,900 flights were recorded on this pairing — 70 cancelled (0.9%) and 22 diverted (0.3%). 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 20,942 total flights analyzed, the 85.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 58.5-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, Jan 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 79% on-time — a 11-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SEA to SNA route, the combination of a 85.4% on-time rate, 58.5-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.