Route · SFO → LAX · 2020–2025 BTS data
San Francisco to Los Angeles
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SFO to LAX (San Francisco to Los Angeles) ranks #2 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 82.9%
- On-time
- +3.9 pts
- vs US avg
- 67 min
- Delay when late
- 63,540
- Flights
- #2 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.7%
Best Month
Jan 2025 87%
Worst Month
Mar 2024 64%
Distance
337 mi
Carriers
55
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 846 | 242 | 5 | 0 | DL,WN,F9,AS,AA,MQ,UA,OO |
| Nov 2025 | 904 | 227 | 24 | 1 | OO,UA,DL,F9,AA,AS,WN |
| Oct 2025 | 991 | 261 | 0 | 1 | AA,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Sep 2025 | 916 | 196 | 2 | 0 | UA,WN,OO,DL,F9,AA |
| Aug 2025 | 928 | 205 | 6 | 0 | AA,OO,WN,F9,UA,DL |
| Jul 2025 | 896 | 236 | 3 | 0 | AA,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Jun 2025 | 898 | 181 | 1 | 0 | AA,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| May 2025 | 965 | 176 | 0 | 0 | AA,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Apr 2025 | 920 | 121 | 2 | 0 | DL,F9,OO,UA,WN,AA,AS |
| Mar 2025 | 917 | 187 | 2 | 0 | AA,AS,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Feb 2025 | 816 | 173 | 2 | 0 | AA,AS,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Jan 2025 | 849 | 110 | 0 | 2 | AA,AS,DL,OO,UA,WN,F9 |
| Dec 2024 | 972 | 229 | 0 | 1 | AA,AS,DL,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Nov 2024 | 1,044 | 213 | 14 | 1 | OO,UA,WN,AS,DL,F9,AA |
| Oct 2024 | 1,063 | 173 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS,OO,WN,DL,F9,AA |
| Sep 2024 | 1,013 | 162 | 1 | 1 | WN,OO,UA,AA,DL,F9 |
| Aug 2024 | 1,005 | 170 | 3 | 0 | AA,AS,DL,F9,WN,OO,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 942 | 181 | 28 | 1 | AS,DL,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Jun 2024 | 858 | 221 | 4 | 1 | AA,AS,B6,DL,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| May 2024 | 1,002 | 274 | 3 | 0 | AA,AS,B6,DL,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Apr 2024 | 990 | 331 | 5 | 0 | AA,B6,DL,F9,OO,UA,WN |
| Mar 2024 | 941 | 341 | 3 | 0 | B6,DL,OO,UA,WN |
| Feb 2024 | 812 | 259 | 14 | 0 | AA,B6,DL,OO,UA,WN |
| Jan 2024 | 857 | 169 | 41 | 0 | B6,DL,WN,OO,UA |
SFO–LAX seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (85.3%) · weakest: December (78.5%)
Strongest calendar month
September
85.3% on-time · ~917 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
October
~960 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
December
78.5% on-time · ~830 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.7%
163 of 22,345 flights
Diversion Rate
0.0%
9 of 22,345 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
SFO - San Francisco
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for San Francisco, CA.
SFO on-time profileLAX - Los Angeles
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Los Angeles, CA.
LAX on-time profileCompare the two airports
See SFO and LAX side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SFO vs LAXOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among SFO departures
From SFO, this corridor sits with 50 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 73 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (20 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 3 below 75%). Destination: Los Angeles · fleet on-time rank #2011 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SFO–LAX.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About SFO to LAX
Bureau of Transportation Statistics records show San Francisco to Los Angeles (SFO to LAX) running a 82.9% on-time rate over 63,540 tracked flights, on the stronger end of a typical domestic pairing. When flights do run late, the average delay is 67.3 minutes. The 337-mile corridor is served by 55 carriers, and over the last 24 months 0.7% of 22,345 flights were cancelled, 0.0% diverted.
The monthly split is wide on this route: Jan 2025 posted the strongest performance at 87% on-time, while Mar 2024 came in at just 64% - a 23-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SFO–LAX peaks in September at 85.3% on-time while October carries the heaviest traffic (~960 flights per month) ; the softest month is December at 78.5%, a 6.8-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SFO to LAX rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SFO to LAX? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SFO to LAX? ▼
How far is the flight from SFO to LAX? ▼
When is the best time to fly from SFO to LAX? ▼
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 SFO–LAX data
SFO–LAX runs 3.9 pts above the national 79% average; the remaining risk is month-to-month swing and carrier mix, not a weak headline rate.
- Compare SFO and LAX airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SFO airport
- If your dates flex, September (85.3% on-time) beats December (78.5%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 82.9% 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.