LAX to SMF flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Sacramento International Airport · 373 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at LAX or SMF 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 Sacramento (SMF) arrived on time 85% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.4% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (88% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (79%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (94% on time); around 8pm did worst (72%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (89% on time) and Sunday the least (80%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (47%).
Which airline is most on time from LAX 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 88% | 0.4% | 10 min | 4.3% | 3,509 |
| United Airlines | 84% | 0.0% | 8 min | 3.5% | 201 |
| Frontier Airlines | 83% | 2.2% | 10 min | 3.6% | 226 |
| Delta Air Lines | 83% | 0.0% | 11 min | 8.0% | 75 |
| Southwest Airlines | 79% | 0.2% | 12 min | 5.9% | 1,629 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am94%239 flights
- 7am90%400 flights
- 8am92%383 flights
- 9am90%615 flights
- 10am90%235 flights
- 11am89%149 flights
- 12pm86%494 flights
- 1pm88%110 flights
- 2pm78%305 flights
- 3pm79%205 flights
- 4pm91%507 flights
- 5pm85%438 flights
- 6pm78%389 flights
- 7pm78%181 flights
- 8pm72%353 flights
- 9pm77%552 flights
- 10pm69%71 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday82%0.3% cancelled
- Tuesday88%0.3% cancelled
- Wednesday89%0.1% cancelled
- Thursday85%0.4% cancelled
- Friday84%0.5% cancelled
- Saturday86%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday80%0.7% 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)47%
- Late-arriving aircraft38%
- Extreme weather10%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion5%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)41%
- Extreme weather41%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion18%
- Security0%
LAX to SMF: common questions
- How often are LAX to SMF flights on time?
- 85% 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 Sacramento cancelled?
- 0.4% of scheduled flights were cancelled (22 of 5,640).
- 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 66 min behind schedule on average, and 4.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at LAX?
- Flights on this route spent 16 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SMF to LAX — 85% 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 → SMF, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.