PHL to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Philadelphia International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 2,370 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
79%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.4%
15 flights
Avg arrival delay
15 min
70 min when late
Airlines
1
1,046 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Philadelphia (PHL) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 79% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 1.4% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- American Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 8am did best (88% on time); around 3pm did worst (70%).
- Sunday was the most reliable day to fly (81% on time) and Monday the least (77%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (34%).
Which airline is most on time from PHL to SAN?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 79% | 1.4% | 15 min | 7.1% | 1,046 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 8am88%362 flights
- 3pm70%141 flights
- 4pm82%180 flights
- 6pm73%275 flights
- 7pm76%75 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday77%2.6% cancelled
- Tuesday80%1.3% cancelled
- Wednesday81%0.7% cancelled
- Thursday77%0.0% cancelled
- Friday80%0.7% cancelled
- Saturday80%2.0% cancelled
- Sunday81%2.7% 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)34%
- Late-arriving aircraft28%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion27%
- Extreme weather11%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather93%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion7%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Security0%
PHL to SAN: common questions
- How often are PHL to SAN 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 Philadelphia to San Diego cancelled?
- 1.4% of scheduled flights were cancelled (15 of 1,046).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 15 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 70 min behind schedule on average, and 7.1% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at PHL?
- Flights on this route spent 24 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to PHL — 88% on time
More flights from Philadelphia
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: PHL → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.