Route Reliability

Route reliability

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

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

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

San Francisco, CAAtlanta, GA

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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

SFO to ATL

San Francisco, CA to Atlanta, GA

On time
79.3%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
0.9%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
6.1%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
3,337in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines85.4% on time · 636 flights

On time more 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 SFO to ATL, 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 85.4% 0.2% 3.3% 50 min 0.5% 636
2. Delta Air Lines 80.3% 0.7% 5.9% 70 min 0.3% 2,390
3. Frontier Airlines 58.8% 3.5% 13.8% 73 min 0.3% 311

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 San Francisco (SFO) to Atlanta (ATL): 85.4% of its 636 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 58.8% for Frontier Airlines.
  • 0.9% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 111), 1.0 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 6.1% of flights, about 1 in 16, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 68 min.
  • Overall, 79.3% of flights on this route arrived on time, 3.7 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (88.9% on time) and July the least reliable (67.8%).
  • Cancellations peaked in July, when 3.2% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (90.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 10 pm to 11 pm were the least (68.4%).
  • In the other direction, Atlanta (ATL) to San Francisco (SFO), 69.2% of flights were on time and 0.7% were cancelled. Compare airlines ATL to SFO.

Best and worst months to fly SFO to ATL

Jan 84.2%
Feb 88.9%
Mar 80.5%
Apr 78.3%
May 76.9%
Jun 75.6%
Jul 67.8%
Aug 78.5%
Sep 87.7%
Oct 87.1%
Nov 82.9%
Dec 81.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 79.3%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 84.2% 619
February 88.9% 578
March 80.5% 800
April 78.3% 822
May 76.9% 841
June 75.6% 890
July 67.8% 945
August 78.5% 875
September 87.7% 855
October 87.1% 909
November 82.9% 817
December 81.0% 788
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines February (88.8%) July (74.4%)
Delta Air Lines September (91.4%) July (68.6%)
Frontier Airlines March (72.0%) April (38.9%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 85.9%
Oct 87.5%
Nov 81.5%
Dec 78.6%
Jan 84.8%
Feb 88.6%
Mar 82.9%
Apr 78.2%
May 73.0%
Jun 77.0%
Jul 61.9%
Aug 77.1%
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 85.9% 277
Oct 2025 87.5% 303
Nov 2025 81.5% 286
Dec 2025 78.6% 271
Jan 2026 84.8% 217
Feb 2026 88.6% 219
Mar 2026 82.9% 281
Apr 2026 78.2% 284
May 2026 73.0% 285
Jun 2026 77.0% 304
Jul 2026 61.9% 318
Aug 2026 77.1% 292

Best and worst departure times

<6a Insufficient sample
6a 90.4%
7a 89.3%
8a 86.7%
9a Insufficient sample
10a 89.4%
11a 82.3%
12p 83.8%
1p 74.7%
2p 74.1%
3p 86.7%
4p Insufficient sample
9p 80.4%
10p 68.4%
11p 68.6%
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at SFO, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing before 6 am Insufficient sample 2
Departing 6 am to 7 am 90.4% 363
Departing 7 am to 8 am 89.3% 168
Departing 8 am to 9 am 86.7% 445
Departing 9 am to 10 am Insufficient sample 46
Departing 10 am to 11 am 89.4% 142
Departing 11 am to noon 82.3% 248
Departing noon to 1 pm 83.8% 117
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 74.7% 178
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 74.1% 189
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 86.7% 75
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm Insufficient sample 49
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 80.4% 362
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm 68.4% 599
Departing 11 pm to midnight 68.6% 354
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 San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Atlanta, GA (ATL), 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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