HOU to SMF flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from William P. Hobby Airport to Sacramento International Airport · 1,624 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at HOU or SMF right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Houston (HOU) to Sacramento (SMF) arrived on time 79% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 8am did best (93% on time); around 9pm did worst (35%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (85% on time) and Saturday the least (69%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (42%).
Which airline is most on time from HOU to SMF?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 79% | 0.0% | 11 min | 4.9% | 364 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 7am88%26 flights
- 8am93%54 flights
- 9am92%79 flights
- 12pm85%54 flights
- 2pm78%36 flights
- 3pm74%27 flights
- 6pm79%19 flights
- 7pm67%15 flights
- 9pm35%31 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday79%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday85%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday85%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday76%0.0% cancelled
- Friday81%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday69%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday79%0.0% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)42%
- Late-arriving aircraft42%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion15%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
No cancellation causes recorded in this period.
HOU to SMF: common questions
- How often are HOU to SMF flights on time?
- 79% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Houston to Sacramento cancelled?
- 0.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (0 of 364).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 11 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 48 min behind schedule on average, and 4.9% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at HOU?
- Flights on this route spent 15 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SMF to HOU — 75% on time
More flights from Houston
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: HOU → SMF, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.