Route · SFO → PHL · 2020–2025 BTS data
San Francisco to Philadelphia
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SFO to PHL (San Francisco to Philadelphia) ranks #1778 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 84.6%
- On-time
- +5.6 pts
- vs US avg
- 71 min
- Delay when late
- 7,127
- Flights
- #1778 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.8%
Best Month
Apr 2025 92%
Worst Month
Jul 2025 73%
Distance
2,521 mi
Carriers
3
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 160 | 19 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Nov 2025 | 147 | 16 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Oct 2025 | 180 | 25 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Sep 2025 | 166 | 19 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Aug 2025 | 167 | 37 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jul 2025 | 182 | 49 | 4 | 1 | AA,UA |
| Jun 2025 | 150 | 21 | 2 | 3 | AA,UA |
| May 2025 | 152 | 32 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Apr 2025 | 141 | 11 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Mar 2025 | 136 | 14 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Feb 2025 | 100 | 14 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jan 2025 | 118 | 14 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Dec 2024 | 138 | 24 | 1 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Nov 2024 | 132 | 16 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Oct 2024 | 137 | 11 | 0 | 1 | UA,AA |
| Sep 2024 | 136 | 28 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Aug 2024 | 131 | 26 | 5 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 118 | 29 | 3 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jun 2024 | 94 | 23 | 2 | 0 | AA,UA |
| May 2024 | 123 | 21 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Apr 2024 | 117 | 21 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Mar 2024 | 93 | 22 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Feb 2024 | 81 | 21 | 0 | 0 | AA,UA |
| Jan 2024 | 92 | 19 | 2 | 1 | AA,UA |
SFO–PHL seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (90.3%) · weakest: June (73.0%)
Strongest calendar month
November
90.3% on-time · ~107 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
October
~132 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
June
73.0% on-time · ~102 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.8%
25 of 3,191 flights
Diversion Rate
0.2%
6 of 3,191 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 profilePHL - Philadelphia
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Philadelphia, PA.
PHL on-time profileCompare the two airports
See SFO and PHL side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SFO vs PHLOrigin-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: Philadelphia · fleet on-time rank #1386 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SFO–PHL.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About SFO to PHL
Bureau of Transportation Statistics records show San Francisco to Philadelphia (SFO to PHL) running a 84.6% on-time rate over 7,127 tracked flights, on the stronger end of a typical domestic pairing. When flights do run late, the average delay is 71.3 minutes. The 2,521-mile corridor is served by 3 carriers, and over the last 24 months 0.8% of 3,191 flights were cancelled, 0.2% diverted.
The monthly split is wide on this route: Apr 2025 posted the strongest performance at 92% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at just 73% - a 19-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SFO–PHL peaks in November at 90.3% on-time while October carries the heaviest traffic (~132 flights per month) ; the softest month is June at 73.0%, a 17.3-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SFO to PHL rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SFO to PHL? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SFO to PHL? ▼
How far is the flight from SFO to PHL? ▼
When is the best time to fly from SFO to PHL? ▼
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–PHL data
SFO–PHL runs 5.6 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 PHL airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SFO airport
- If your dates flex, November (90.3% on-time) beats June (73.0%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 84.6% 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.