Sanford to Asheville

What the Data Says About SFB to AVL

The Sanford to Asheville corridor (SFB → AVL) covers roughly 465 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,648 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 71.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 78.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,046 flights were recorded on this pairing — 20 cancelled (1.9%) and 2 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,648 total flights analyzed, the 71.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 78.8-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 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 75% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 62% on-time — a 13-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SFB to AVL route, the combination of a 71.5% on-time rate, 78.8-minute average delay, 1.9% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.