Route · SFO → SMF · 2020–2025 BTS data
San Francisco to Sacramento
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), SFO to SMF (San Francisco to Sacramento) ranks #1995 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 85%
- On-time
- +6 pts
- vs US avg
- 76 min
- Delay when late
- 6,313
- Flights
- #1995 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
1.5%
Best Month
Apr 2024 93%
Worst Month
Dec 2025 73%
Distance
86 mi
Carriers
5
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 105 | 28 | 2 | 0 | UA,OO |
| Nov 2025 | 118 | 26 | 12 | 1 | OO |
| Oct 2025 | 144 | 24 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Sep 2025 | 119 | 23 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Aug 2025 | 113 | 15 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Jul 2025 | 114 | 25 | 1 | 0 | OO |
| Jun 2025 | 111 | 17 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| May 2025 | 115 | 17 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Apr 2025 | 118 | 12 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Mar 2025 | 95 | 21 | 0 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Feb 2025 | 98 | 14 | 6 | 0 | OO |
| Jan 2025 | 92 | 12 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Dec 2024 | 93 | 24 | 1 | 0 | OO |
| Nov 2024 | 119 | 31 | 7 | 0 | OO,UA |
| Oct 2024 | 121 | 23 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Sep 2024 | 95 | 11 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Aug 2024 | 75 | 11 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Jul 2024 | 62 | 7 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Jun 2024 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| May 2024 | 62 | 9 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Apr 2024 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 0 | OO |
| Mar 2024 | 68 | 13 | 1 | 0 | OO |
| Feb 2024 | 87 | 14 | 4 | 0 | OO |
| Jan 2024 | 92 | 14 | 1 | 0 | OO |
SFO–SMF seasonal on-time pattern
Best: April (90.7%) · weakest: December (77.7%)
Strongest calendar month
April
90.7% on-time · ~74 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
October
~113 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
December
77.7% on-time · ~88 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
1.5%
35 of 2,336 flights
Diversion Rate
0.0%
1 of 2,336 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 profileSMF - Sacramento
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Sacramento, CA.
SMF on-time profileCompare the two airports
See SFO and SMF side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare SFO vs SMFOrigin-hub reliability standing
Among SFO's stronger departures
SFO → SMF posts a 85% 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 #1238 of 4927 (highest on-time = #1).
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to SFO–SMF.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
Routes of a similar trip length
What the Data Says About SFO to SMF
San Francisco to Sacramento (SFO to SMF) is one of the more dependable pairings in the BTS On-Time Performance dataset: a 85% on-time rate across 6,313 flights, with delays that do happen averaging 75.9 minutes. The corridor runs roughly 86 miles and is served by 5 carriers. Over the most recent 24 months, 35 of 2,336 flights were cancelled (1.5%) and 1 diverted (0.0%).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Apr 2024 posted the strongest performance at 93% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at just 73% - a 20-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, SFO–SMF peaks in April at 90.7% on-time while October carries the heaviest traffic (~113 flights per month) ; the softest month is December at 77.7%, a 13.0-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does SFO to SMF rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from SFO to SMF? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for SFO to SMF? ▼
How far is the flight from SFO to SMF? ▼
When is the best time to fly from SFO to SMF? ▼
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–SMF data
SFO–SMF runs 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 SMF airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. SFO airport
- If your dates flex, April (90.7% on-time) beats December (77.7%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 85% 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.