Route Reliability

Route reliability

Atlanta (ATL) to San Francisco (SFO): which airline is most on time?

On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Atlanta, GA (ATL) to San Francisco, CA (SFO), September 2025 to August 2026.

Historical performance Official DOT data through August 2026 · Not live flight status

Atlanta, GASan Francisco, CA

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Three-letter airport codes, nonstop U.S. domestic flights. One direction at a time.

Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026

ATL to SFO

Atlanta, GA to San Francisco, CA

On time
69.2%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
Cancelled
0.7%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
9.2%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
Scheduled flights
3,339in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines76.6% on time · 636 flights

On time less often than the U.S. average, with fewer cancellations.

Compared with all U.S. flights, September 2025 to August 2026. “About average” means within 1.5 points for on time, 0.3 for cancelled and 1 for 60+ minutes late.

Airlines on this route

Ranked by on-time arrival

Airlines from ATL to SFO, September 2025 to August 2026. Rates are shares of all scheduled flights.
Airline On time Cancelled 60+ min late Avg delay when late Diverted Flights
1. United Airlines Most reliable 76.6% 0.5% 9.6% 69 min 0.0% 636
2. Delta Air Lines 67.9% 0.7% 8.6% 55 min 0.3% 2,393
3. Frontier Airlines 64.5% 1.3% 13.2% 63 min 0.3% 310

On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.

What this means

United Airlines has the strongest record on this route.

  • United Airlines had the best on-time record from Atlanta (ATL) to San Francisco (SFO): 76.6% of its 636 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 64.5% for Frontier Airlines.
  • 0.7% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 143), 1.2 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 9.2% of flights, about 1 in 11, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 58 min.
  • Overall, 69.2% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.4 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (82.7% on time) and May the least reliable (59.3%).
  • Cancellations peaked in July, when 2.5% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (86.6% on time); flights scheduled to depart 8 pm to 9 pm were the least (58.4%).
  • In the other direction, San Francisco (SFO) to Atlanta (ATL), 79.3% of flights were on time and 0.9% were cancelled. Compare airlines SFO to ATL.

Best and worst months to fly ATL to SFO

Jan 75.8%
Feb 71.8%
Mar 76.5%
Apr 67.2%
May 59.3%
Jun 64.2%
Jul 62.3%
Aug 71.4%
Sep 80.4%
Oct 82.7%
Nov 77.2%
Dec 75.8%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 69.2%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 75.8% 619
February 71.8% 579
March 76.5% 800
April 67.2% 823
May 59.3% 842
June 64.2% 889
July 62.3% 944
August 71.4% 877
September 80.4% 856
October 82.7% 911
November 77.2% 820
December 75.8% 786
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines March (84.4%) May (64.5%)
Delta Air Lines October (84.3%) May (59.5%)
Frontier Airlines November (70.2%) August (43.5%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 80.9%
Oct 71.9%
Nov 75.3%
Dec 70.3%
Jan 72.4%
Feb 74.1%
Mar 84.8%
Apr 69.6%
May 57.5%
Jun 55.6%
Jul 55.2%
Aug 68.2%
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
All airlines combined, September 2025 to August 2026. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Sep 2025 80.9% 277
Oct 2025 71.9% 306
Nov 2025 75.3% 287
Dec 2025 70.3% 269
Jan 2026 72.4% 217
Feb 2026 74.1% 220
Mar 2026 84.8% 282
Apr 2026 69.6% 283
May 2026 57.5% 285
Jun 2026 55.6% 304
Jul 2026 55.2% 317
Aug 2026 68.2% 292

Best and worst departure times

6a 86.6%
7a 82.4%
8a 81.1%
9a 61.8%
10a 72.3%
11a Insufficient sample
12p 69.0%
1p Insufficient sample
2p Insufficient sample
3p 66.1%
4p 64.3%
5p 68.9%
6p 61.9%
7p 60.4%
8p 58.4%
9p 73.7%
10p 59.7%
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at ATL, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing 6 am to 7 am 86.6% 134
Departing 7 am to 8 am 82.4% 244
Departing 8 am to 9 am 81.1% 350
Departing 9 am to 10 am 61.8% 165
Departing 10 am to 11 am 72.3% 242
Departing 11 am to noon Insufficient sample 35
Departing noon to 1 pm 69.0% 171
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm Insufficient sample 17
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm Insufficient sample 47
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 66.1% 292
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 64.3% 294
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 68.9% 251
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 61.9% 357
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 60.4% 235
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 58.4% 214
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 73.7% 224
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm 59.7% 67
Woman at an airport window watching a plane take off
Photo: Depositphotos (licensed stock, illustrative only). Credits

Sources & data dates

Source
U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
Period
September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
Data through
August 2026
Processed
2026-11-03
Scope
Nonstop scheduled flights from Atlanta, GA (ATL) to San Francisco, CA (SFO), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
Method
Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.

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