Route reliability
San Francisco (SFO) to San Diego (SAN): 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 San Diego, CA (SAN), September 2025 to August 2026.
San Francisco, CASan Diego, CA
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
SFO to SAN
San Francisco, CA to San Diego, CA
- On time
- 61.3%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 1.2%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
- 60+ min late
- 13.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 6,723in 12 months5 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Alaska Airlines81.9% on time · 331 flights
On time less often than the U.S. average, with fewer cancellations.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Alaska Airlines Most reliable | 81.9% | 1.2% | 4.5% | 44 min | 0.0% | 331 |
| 2. United Airlines | 72.3% | 0.3% | 7.9% | 54 min | 0.3% | 2,666 |
| 3. SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska | 58.5% | 2.4% | 14.4% | 58 min | 0.3% | 1,442 |
| 4. Southwest Airlines | 47.1% | 1.4% | 20.0% | 62 min | 0.2% | 2,070 |
| 5. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 46.3% | 4.2% | 24.3% | 95 min | 0.0% | 214 |
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
Alaska Airlines has the strongest record on this route.
- Alaska Airlines had the best on-time record from San Francisco (SFO) to San Diego (SAN): 81.9% of its 331 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 47.1% for Southwest Airlines.
- 1.2% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 83), 0.7 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 13.4% of flights, about 1 in 7, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 60 min.
- Overall, 61.3% of flights on this route arrived on time, 14.3 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, January was the most reliable month on this route (78.3% on time) and August the least reliable (60.1%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 2.8% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (92.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 3 pm to 4 pm were the least (40.1%).
- In the other direction, San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO), 58.3% of flights were on time and 1.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines SAN to SFO.
Best and worst months to fly SFO to SAN
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 61.3%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78.3% | 1,486 |
| February | 71.2% | 1,334 |
| March | 72.6% | 1,539 |
| April | 68.1% | 1,589 |
| May | 68.4% | 1,648 |
| June | 65.1% | 1,609 |
| July | 61.1% | 1,776 |
| August | 60.1% | 1,856 |
| September | 75.9% | 1,677 |
| October | 69.1% | 1,722 |
| November | 71.4% | 1,665 |
| December | 70.2% | 1,619 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | January (94.5%) | October (75.4%) |
| United Airlines | September (86.8%) | July (66.2%) |
| SkyWest Airlines | January (78.0%) | August (57.3%) |
| Southwest Airlines | January (74.5%) | August (46.3%) |
| Frontier Airlines | September (69.4%) | July (28.9%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 72.9% | 582 |
| Oct 2025 | 64.2% | 659 |
| Nov 2025 | 61.0% | 564 |
| Dec 2025 | 60.5% | 486 |
| Jan 2026 | 78.6% | 504 |
| Feb 2026 | 71.7% | 442 |
| Mar 2026 | 76.6% | 491 |
| Apr 2026 | 61.9% | 514 |
| May 2026 | 55.2% | 529 |
| Jun 2026 | 53.0% | 602 |
| Jul 2026 | 49.3% | 655 |
| Aug 2026 | 42.0% | 695 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 85.3% | 75 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 92.1% | 504 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 87.4% | 469 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 76.0% | 441 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 73.1% | 346 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 45.0% | 578 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 53.2% | 605 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 53.8% | 221 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 56.5% | 405 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 51.6% | 395 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 40.1% | 232 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 50.2% | 564 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 63.6% | 220 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 50.4% | 361 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 57.6% | 481 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 50.9% | 159 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 58.5% | 277 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 61.5% | 390 |
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 San Diego, CA (SAN), 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.