Route Reliability

Route reliability

San Francisco (SFO) to Portland (PDX): 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 Portland, OR (PDX), September 2025 to August 2026.

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

San Francisco, CAPortland, OR

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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 PDX

San Francisco, CA to Portland, OR

On time
77.8%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
0.3%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
6.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
3,491in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines78.7% on time · 1,726 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 PDX, 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 78.7% 0.1% 7.2% 62 min 0.0% 1,726
2. SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska 78.5% 0.3% 3.9% 56 min 0.0% 363
3. Alaska Airlines 76.4% 0.6% 6.1% 55 min 0.0% 1,402

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 Portland (PDX): 78.7% of its 1,726 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 76.4% for Alaska Airlines.
  • 0.3% of flights on this route were cancelled, 1.6 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 6.4% of flights, about 1 in 16, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 59 min.
  • Overall, 77.8% of flights on this route arrived on time, 2.2 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (87.3% on time) and June the least reliable (73.2%).
  • Cancellations peaked in January, when 3.1% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 7 am to 8 am were the most punctual (95.0% on time); flights scheduled to depart 3 pm to 4 pm were the least (67.2%).
  • In the other direction, Portland (PDX) to San Francisco (SFO), 66.5% of flights were on time and 0.4% were cancelled. Compare airlines PDX to SFO.

Best and worst months to fly SFO to PDX

Jan 83.1%
Feb 78.2%
Mar 79.2%
Apr 76.0%
May 73.3%
Jun 73.2%
Jul 75.0%
Aug 78.1%
Sep 84.3%
Oct 87.3%
Nov 80.1%
Dec 80.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 77.8%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 83.1% 765
February 78.2% 765
March 79.2% 851
April 76.0% 815
May 73.3% 883
June 73.2% 840
July 75.0% 960
August 78.1% 1,003
September 84.3% 929
October 87.3% 970
November 80.1% 890
December 80.0% 810
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines September (89.4%) June (78.0%)
SkyWest Airlines October (89.3%) May (67.7%)
Alaska Airlines October (85.2%) May (69.3%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 87.2%
Oct 82.8%
Nov 77.5%
Dec 78.3%
Jan 85.8%
Feb 84.6%
Mar 88.9%
Apr 73.3%
May 67.9%
Jun 68.2%
Jul 72.1%
Aug 68.0%
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 87.2% 328
Oct 2025 82.8% 344
Nov 2025 77.5% 280
Dec 2025 78.3% 235
Jan 2026 85.8% 254
Feb 2026 84.6% 254
Mar 2026 88.9% 289
Apr 2026 73.3% 300
May 2026 67.9% 299
Jun 2026 68.2% 289
Jul 2026 72.1% 294
Aug 2026 68.0% 325

Best and worst departure times

7a 95.0%
8a 89.1%
9a 86.4%
10a 74.6%
11a 67.5%
12p 70.9%
1p Insufficient sample
2p 76.5%
3p 67.2%
4p 74.1%
5p 76.3%
6p 78.5%
7p 86.0%
8p 72.6%
9p 77.4%
10p 79.2%
11p Insufficient sample
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 7 am to 8 am 95.0% 262
Departing 8 am to 9 am 89.1% 266
Departing 9 am to 10 am 86.4% 81
Departing 10 am to 11 am 74.6% 287
Departing 11 am to noon 67.5% 249
Departing noon to 1 pm 70.9% 330
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm Insufficient sample 42
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 76.5% 234
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 67.2% 235
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 74.1% 224
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 76.3% 59
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 78.5% 437
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 86.0% 136
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 72.6% 157
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 77.4% 164
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm 79.2% 327
Departing 11 pm to midnight Insufficient sample 1
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 Portland, OR (PDX), 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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