SBA to OAK flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport to Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport · 263 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SBA or OAK right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Santa Barbara (SBA) to Oakland (OAK) arrived on time 91% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.3% were cancelled, and 2% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 1pm did best (100% on time); around 12pm did worst (80%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (97% on time) and Monday the least (84%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (81%).
Which airline is most on time from SBA to OAK?
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 | 91% | 0.3% | 4 min | 1.7% | 300 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am95%20 flights
- 10am98%43 flights
- 11am89%82 flights
- 12pm80%45 flights
- 1pm100%25 flights
- 2pm100%30 flights
- 3pm86%21 flights
- 6pm83%19 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday84%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday97%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday97%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday90%0.0% cancelled
- Friday94%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday90%2.4% cancelled
- Sunday90%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.
- Late-arriving aircraft81%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)14%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion4%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion100%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
SBA to OAK: common questions
- How often are SBA to OAK flights on time?
- 91% 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 Santa Barbara to Oakland cancelled?
- 0.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (1 of 300).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 4 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 37 min behind schedule on average, and 1.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SBA?
- Flights on this route spent 12 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: OAK to SBA — 85% on time
More flights from Santa Barbara
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SBA → OAK, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.