Sacramento to Burbank

What the Data Says About SMF to BUR

The Sacramento to Burbank corridor (SMF → BUR) covers roughly 358 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 15,729 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 56.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,539 flights were recorded on this pairing — 83 cancelled (1.5%) and 22 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 15,729 total flights analyzed, the 85.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 56.3-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Dec 2024 came in at 74% on-time — a 17-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SMF to BUR route, the combination of a 85.1% on-time rate, 56.3-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.