San Jose to San Diego

What the Data Says About SJC to SAN

The San Jose to San Diego corridor (SJC → SAN) covers roughly 417 miles and is served by 19 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 31,755 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 54.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 11,073 flights were recorded on this pairing — 105 cancelled (0.9%) and 21 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 19 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 31,755 total flights analyzed, the 82.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 54.8-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, Jan 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 66% on-time — a 21-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SJC to SAN route, the combination of a 82.2% on-time rate, 54.8-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 19 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.