Sacramento to Phoenix

What the Data Says About SMF to PHX

The Sacramento to Phoenix corridor (SMF → PHX) covers roughly 647 miles and is served by 27 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 19,487 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,364 flights were recorded on this pairing — 28 cancelled (0.4%) and 10 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 27 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 19,487 total flights analyzed, the 85.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.1-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Oct 2025 came in at 74% on-time — a 16-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SMF to PHX route, the combination of a 85.4% on-time rate, 75.1-minute average delay, 0.4% recent cancellation rate, and 27 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.