Route Reliability

Route reliability

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

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

San Francisco, CANew York, NY

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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 JFK

San Francisco, CA to New York, NY

On time
75.4%vs 75.6% U.S. average About average
Cancelled
2.5%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
60+ min late
8.1%vs 8.1% U.S. average About average
Scheduled flights
6,798in 12 months4 airlines
Most reliable airline
JetBlue Airways76.5% on time · 1,955 flights

On time about as often as 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 SFO to JFK, 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. JetBlue Airways Most reliable 76.5% 2.5% 8.3% 77 min 0.6% 1,955
2. Alaska Airlines 76.3% 2.2% 6.2% 56 min 0.7% 1,112
3. Delta Air Lines 75.0% 2.2% 8.1% 71 min 0.6% 2,230
4. American Airlines 73.8% 3.2% 9.3% 113 min 1.6% 1,501

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

JetBlue Airways has the strongest record on this route.

  • JetBlue Airways had the best on-time record from San Francisco (SFO) to New York (JFK): 76.5% of its 1,955 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 73.8% for American Airlines.
  • 2.5% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 40), 0.6 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 8.1% of flights, about 1 in 12, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 79 min.
  • Overall, 75.4% of flights on this route arrived on time, about the same as the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (86.6% on time) and July the least reliable (65.7%).
  • Cancellations peaked in January, when 4.6% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (87.2% on time); flights scheduled to depart 11 pm to midnight were the least (57.3%).
  • In the other direction, New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO), 69.4% of flights were on time and 2.6% were cancelled. Compare airlines JFK to SFO.

Best and worst months to fly SFO to JFK

Jan 80.5%
Feb 80.5%
Mar 80.6%
Apr 82.2%
May 75.5%
Jun 72.5%
Jul 65.7%
Aug 71.8%
Sep 79.9%
Oct 86.6%
Nov 86.3%
Dec 80.2%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 75.4%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 80.5% 1,511
February 80.5% 1,352
March 80.6% 1,555
April 82.2% 1,635
May 75.5% 1,815
June 72.5% 1,773
July 65.7% 1,804
August 71.8% 1,792
September 79.9% 1,754
October 86.6% 1,804
November 86.3% 1,698
December 80.2% 1,632
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
JetBlue Airways October (87.6%) July (66.7%)
Alaska Airlines November (85.7%) July (60.3%)
Delta Air Lines October (89.0%) July (64.9%)
American Airlines November (88.5%) July (70.1%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 85.3%
Oct 83.3%
Nov 80.2%
Dec 77.6%
Jan 76.3%
Feb 78.9%
Mar 82.9%
Apr 79.6%
May 74.7%
Jun 69.7%
Jul 59.5%
Aug 60.8%
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 83.3% 611
Nov 2025 80.2% 546
Dec 2025 77.6% 536
Jan 2026 76.3% 539
Feb 2026 78.9% 465
Mar 2026 82.9% 533
Apr 2026 79.6% 543
May 2026 74.7% 593
Jun 2026 69.7% 611
Jul 2026 59.5% 622
Aug 2026 60.8% 620

Best and worst departure times

6a 87.2%
7a 86.1%
8a 76.5%
9a 83.4%
10a 73.0%
11a 72.6%
12p 61.9%
1p 62.2%
2p 66.6%
3p 70.8%
4p 69.7%
5p Insufficient sample
8p 79.3%
9p 80.8%
10p 82.7%
11p 57.3%
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 6 am to 7 am 87.2% 585
Departing 7 am to 8 am 86.1% 818
Departing 8 am to 9 am 76.5% 408
Departing 9 am to 10 am 83.4% 416
Departing 10 am to 11 am 73.0% 385
Departing 11 am to noon 72.6% 486
Departing noon to 1 pm 61.9% 441
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 62.2% 653
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 66.6% 401
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 70.8% 216
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 69.7% 221
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm Insufficient sample 1
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 79.3% 116
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 80.8% 381
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm 82.7% 933
Departing 11 pm to midnight 57.3% 337
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 New York, NY (JFK), 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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