SAN to SEA flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport · 1,050 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
81%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.5%
69 flights
Avg arrival delay
13 min
64 min when late
Airlines
4
4,593 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to Seattle (SEA) arrived on time 81% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 1.5% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- Delta Air Lines was the most punctual airline here (87% on time); Alaska Airlines was the least (78%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (93% on time); around 5pm did worst (75%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (88% on time) and Friday the least (74%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (53%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN to SEA?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 87% | 1.1% | 10 min | 4.8% | 1,704 |
| Alaska Airlines | 78% | 1.8% | 15 min | 6.0% | 2,739 |
| Southwest Airlines | 59% | 0.0% | 22 min | 8.8% | 149 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 0% | 0.0% | 28 min | 0.0% | 1 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am93%370 flights
- 7am87%492 flights
- 8am71%135 flights
- 9am84%151 flights
- 10am83%189 flights
- 11am83%586 flights
- 12pm80%122 flights
- 1pm80%543 flights
- 2pm76%201 flights
- 3pm78%504 flights
- 4pm80%204 flights
- 5pm75%228 flights
- 6pm75%267 flights
- 7pm79%406 flights
- 8pm79%178 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday80%0.4% cancelled
- Tuesday88%0.8% cancelled
- Wednesday86%1.1% cancelled
- Thursday76%1.7% cancelled
- Friday74%1.9% cancelled
- Saturday87%2.3% cancelled
- Sunday78%2.3% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft53%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)31%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion15%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)61%
- Extreme weather30%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion9%
- Security0%
SAN to SEA: common questions
- How often are SAN to SEA flights on time?
- 81% 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 San Diego to Seattle cancelled?
- 1.5% of scheduled flights were cancelled (69 of 4,593).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 13 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 64 min behind schedule on average, and 5.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 23 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SEA to SAN — 76% on time
More flights from San Diego
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SAN → SEA, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.