SBA to SEA flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport · 908 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SBA or SEA 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 Seattle (SEA) arrived on time 79% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.8% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- Departures scheduled around 2pm did best (91% on time); around 7pm did worst (75%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (88% on time) and Wednesday the least (74%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (67%).
Which airline is most on time from SBA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 84% | 0.0% | 7 min | 0.0% | 19 |
| Alaska Airlines | 79% | 0.9% | 12 min | 5.6% | 344 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 11am84%19 flights
- 2pm91%70 flights
- 6pm87%23 flights
- 7pm75%251 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday78%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday84%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday74%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday75%1.9% cancelled
- Friday78%1.8% cancelled
- Saturday88%2.3% cancelled
- Sunday78%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 aircraft67%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion30%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)2%
- Security0%
- Extreme weather0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather100%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
SBA to SEA: common questions
- How often are SBA to SEA 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 Santa Barbara to Seattle cancelled?
- 0.8% of scheduled flights were cancelled (3 of 363).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 12 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 50 min behind schedule on average, and 5.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SBA?
- Flights on this route spent 13 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SEA to SBA — 82% 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 → SEA, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.