Santa Ana to Seattle

What the Data Says About SNA to SEA

The Santa Ana to Seattle corridor (SNA → SEA) covers roughly 978 miles and is served by 17 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 20,946 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 71.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,894 flights were recorded on this pairing — 96 cancelled (1.2%) and 9 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 17 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 20,946 total flights analyzed, the 86.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 71.1-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 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 70% on-time — a 22-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SNA to SEA route, the combination of a 86.2% on-time rate, 71.1-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 17 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.