Route · SFO → SBA · 2020–2025 BTS data
San Francisco to Santa Barbara
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SFO to SBA (San Francisco to Santa Barbara) ranks #1717 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 86%
- On-time
- +7 pts
- vs US avg
- 82 min
- Delay when late
- 7,387
- Flights
- #1717 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
1.7%
Best Month
Jun 2024 97%
Worst Month
Feb 2024 76%
Distance
262 mi
Carriers
3
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 118 | 23 | 2 | 1 | UA,OO |
| Nov 2025 | 146 | 25 | 7 | 1 | OO,UA |
| Oct 2025 | 143 | 23 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Sep 2025 | 132 | 18 | 1 | 1 | UA,OO |
| Aug 2025 | 110 | 14 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jul 2025 | 123 | 25 | 4 | 2 | OO,UA |
| Jun 2025 | 120 | 19 | 0 | 1 | OO,UA |
| May 2025 | 154 | 19 | 0 | 1 | OO,UA |
| Apr 2025 | 144 | 16 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Mar 2025 | 116 | 21 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Feb 2025 | 92 | 17 | 2 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jan 2025 | 80 | 8 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Dec 2024 | 91 | 20 | 1 | 1 | OO,UA |
| Nov 2024 | 117 | 26 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Oct 2024 | 120 | 19 | 1 | 2 | UA,OO |
| Sep 2024 | 115 | 14 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Aug 2024 | 122 | 8 | 2 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 123 | 16 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Jun 2024 | 60 | 2 | 4 | 1 | OO,UA |
| May 2024 | 84 | 14 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Apr 2024 | 82 | 8 | 4 | 6 | OO,UA |
| Mar 2024 | 93 | 20 | 1 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Feb 2024 | 87 | 21 | 9 | 1 | OO,UA |
| Jan 2024 | 93 | 20 | 3 | 0 | OO,UA |
SFO–SBA seasonal on-time pattern
Best: April (90.3%) · weakest: December (81.5%)
Strongest calendar month
April
90.3% on-time · ~93 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
August
~115 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
December
81.5% on-time · ~89 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
1.7%
44 of 2,665 flights
Diversion Rate
0.7%
18 of 2,665 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 profileSBA - Santa Barbara
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Santa Barbara, CA.
SBA on-time profileCompare the two airports
See SFO and SBA side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SFO vs SBAOrigin-hub reliability standing
Among SFO's stronger departures
SFO → SBA posts a 86% on-time rate, landing in the ≥85% band with 20 of 73 BTS-tracked routes leaving San Francisco. The same hub also shows 50 mid-band and 3 challenged departures · fleet-wide on-time rank #921 of 4927 (highest on-time = #1).
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SFO–SBA.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About SFO to SBA
San Francisco to Santa Barbara (SFO to SBA) is one of the more dependable pairings in the BTS On-Time Performance dataset: a 86% on-time rate across 7,387 flights, with delays that do happen averaging 81.8 minutes. The corridor runs roughly 262 miles and is served by 3 carriers. Over the most recent 24 months, 44 of 2,665 flights were cancelled (1.7%) and 18 diverted (0.7%).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Jun 2024 posted the strongest performance at 97% on-time, while Feb 2024 came in at just 76% - a 21-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SFO–SBA peaks in April at 90.3% on-time while August carries the heaviest traffic (~115 flights per month) ; the softest month is December at 81.5%, a 8.8-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SFO to SBA rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SFO to SBA? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SFO to SBA? ▼
How far is the flight from SFO to SBA? ▼
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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–SBA data
SFO–SBA runs 7 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 SBA airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SFO airport
- If your dates flex, April (90.3% on-time) beats December (81.5%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 86% 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.