LAX to SFO flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to San Francisco International Airport · 337 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at LAX or SFO right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) arrived on time 62% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.8% were cancelled, and 12% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (69% on time); Alaska Airlines was the least (51%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (95% on time); around 8pm did worst (42%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (69% on time) and Friday the least (58%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was air traffic control & airport congestion (55%).
Which airline is most on time from LAX to SFO?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 69% | 1.2% | 20 min | 10.4% | 2,573 |
| United Airlines | 64% | 0.2% | 21 min | 10.4% | 3,291 |
| Delta Air Lines | 63% | 1.6% | 21 min | 10.8% | 2,374 |
| American Airlines | 62% | 0.0% | 29 min | 15.9% | 316 |
| Southwest Airlines | 54% | 0.4% | 29 min | 18.4% | 1,426 |
| Alaska Airlines | 51% | 0.5% | 28 min | 16.3% | 864 |
| Frontier Airlines | 49% | 2.3% | 34 min | 21.2% | 391 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am95%933 flights
- 7am74%629 flights
- 8am50%674 flights
- 9am55%546 flights
- 10am54%842 flights
- 11am61%520 flights
- 12pm69%419 flights
- 1pm68%864 flights
- 2pm43%355 flights
- 3pm66%226 flights
- 4pm66%856 flights
- 5pm74%887 flights
- 6pm51%952 flights
- 7pm45%596 flights
- 8pm42%739 flights
- 9pm62%799 flights
- 10pm65%363 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday62%1.0% cancelled
- Tuesday69%0.7% cancelled
- Wednesday62%0.5% cancelled
- Thursday59%0.7% cancelled
- Friday58%1.0% cancelled
- Saturday68%0.9% cancelled
- Sunday60%1.0% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion55%
- Late-arriving aircraft25%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)19%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)57%
- Extreme weather23%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion19%
- Security0%
LAX to SFO: common questions
- How often are LAX to SFO flights on time?
- 62% 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 Los Angeles to San Francisco cancelled?
- 0.8% of scheduled flights were cancelled (94 of 11,235).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 23 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 58 min behind schedule on average, and 12.5% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at LAX?
- Flights on this route spent 26 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SFO to LAX — 73% on time
More flights from Los Angeles
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: LAX → SFO, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.