Route Reliability

Route reliability

New York (JFK) 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 New York, NY (JFK) to San Francisco, CA (SFO), September 2025 to August 2026.

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

New York, NYSan 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

JFK to SFO

New York, NY to San Francisco, CA

On time
69.4%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
Cancelled
2.6%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
60+ min late
10.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
Scheduled flights
6,800in 12 months4 airlines
Most reliable airline
American Airlines72.4% on time · 1,501 flights

On time less often than the U.S. average, with more 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 JFK 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. American Airlines Most reliable 72.4% 2.9% 7.8% 67 min 0.2% 1,501
2. JetBlue Airways 71.2% 2.9% 11.4% 73 min 0.2% 1,955
3. Alaska Airlines 69.7% 2.4% 9.6% 66 min 0.3% 1,113
4. Delta Air Lines 65.7% 2.2% 11.6% 70 min 0.2% 2,231

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

American Airlines has the strongest record on this route.

  • American Airlines had the best on-time record from New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO): 72.4% of its 1,501 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 65.7% for Delta Air Lines.
  • 2.6% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 38), 0.7 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 10.4% of flights, about 1 in 10, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 69 min.
  • Overall, 69.4% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.2 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, September was the most reliable month on this route (83.9% on time) and June the least reliable (66.9%).
  • Cancellations peaked in January, when 4.0% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (85.7% on time); flights scheduled to depart 6 pm to 7 pm were the least (43.1%).
  • In the other direction, San Francisco (SFO) to New York (JFK), 75.4% of flights were on time and 2.5% were cancelled. Compare airlines SFO to JFK.

Best and worst months to fly JFK to SFO

Jan 79.8%
Feb 71.4%
Mar 78.1%
Apr 74.1%
May 72.8%
Jun 66.9%
Jul 68.5%
Aug 71.0%
Sep 83.9%
Oct 81.6%
Nov 78.9%
Dec 78.2%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 69.4%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 79.8% 1,511
February 71.4% 1,351
March 78.1% 1,551
April 74.1% 1,635
May 72.8% 1,814
June 66.9% 1,774
July 68.5% 1,804
August 71.0% 1,795
September 83.9% 1,753
October 81.6% 1,806
November 78.9% 1,699
December 78.2% 1,632
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
American Airlines March (86.3%) June (72.5%)
JetBlue Airways November (82.9%) June (63.7%)
Alaska Airlines September (84.2%) June (59.1%)
Delta Air Lines September (86.4%) July (68.5%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 85.3%
Oct 71.7%
Nov 74.5%
Dec 62.9%
Jan 71.4%
Feb 71.2%
Mar 80.7%
Apr 70.5%
May 68.6%
Jun 60.2%
Jul 59.5%
Aug 59.1%
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 85.3% 579
Oct 2025 71.7% 611
Nov 2025 74.5% 546
Dec 2025 62.9% 537
Jan 2026 71.4% 539
Feb 2026 71.2% 465
Mar 2026 80.7% 533
Apr 2026 70.5% 543
May 2026 68.6% 593
Jun 2026 60.2% 611
Jul 2026 59.5% 622
Aug 2026 59.1% 621

Best and worst departure times

6a 85.7%
7a 75.6%
8a 79.6%
9a 73.1%
10a 68.8%
11a 69.9%
12p 79.7%
1p 79.3%
2p 73.1%
3p 66.6%
4p 64.7%
5p 70.6%
6p 43.1%
7p 60.1%
8p 58.6%
9p 59.3%
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at JFK, 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 85.7% 560
Departing 7 am to 8 am 75.6% 632
Departing 8 am to 9 am 79.6% 398
Departing 9 am to 10 am 73.1% 650
Departing 10 am to 11 am 68.8% 320
Departing 11 am to noon 69.9% 539
Departing noon to 1 pm 79.7% 64
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 79.3% 363
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 73.1% 223
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 66.6% 302
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 64.7% 431
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 70.6% 586
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 43.1% 311
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 60.1% 386
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 58.6% 684
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 59.3% 351
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 New York, NY (JFK) 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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