SFO to LAX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Francisco International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport · 337 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SFO or LAX right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles (LAX) arrived on time 73% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.9% were cancelled, and 8% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (78% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (60%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (94% on time); around 8pm did worst (58%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (79% on time) and Thursday the least (69%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (57%).
Which airline is most on time from SFO to LAX?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 78% | 0.3% | 11 min | 4.9% | 3,297 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 75% | 1.1% | 16 min | 8.7% | 2,568 |
| American Airlines | 74% | 0.0% | 28 min | 14.5% | 318 |
| Delta Air Lines | 72% | 1.6% | 19 min | 8.6% | 2,374 |
| Frontier Airlines | 68% | 1.5% | 27 min | 13.3% | 390 |
| Alaska Airlines | 68% | 0.7% | 17 min | 6.8% | 862 |
| Southwest Airlines | 60% | 0.6% | 25 min | 14.4% | 1,425 |
| Envoy AirRegional airline operating American Eagle flights. | 0% | 0.0% | 35 min | 0.0% | 1 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am98%177 flights
- 6am94%1,027 flights
- 7am88%752 flights
- 8am87%674 flights
- 9am84%644 flights
- 10am63%1,053 flights
- 11am59%623 flights
- 12pm62%541 flights
- 1pm69%747 flights
- 2pm61%280 flights
- 3pm66%411 flights
- 4pm66%912 flights
- 5pm70%406 flights
- 6pm76%1,027 flights
- 7pm68%611 flights
- 8pm58%544 flights
- 9pm59%387 flights
- 10pm69%389 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday71%1.0% cancelled
- Tuesday78%0.6% cancelled
- Wednesday75%0.7% cancelled
- Thursday69%0.9% cancelled
- Friday69%0.9% cancelled
- Saturday79%1.1% cancelled
- Sunday70%0.9% 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 aircraft57%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)23%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion19%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)58%
- Extreme weather22%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion20%
- Security0%
SFO to LAX: common questions
- How often are SFO to LAX flights on time?
- 73% 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 Francisco to Los Angeles cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights were cancelled (96 of 11,235).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 17 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 59 min behind schedule on average, and 8.5% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SFO?
- Flights on this route spent 22 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: LAX to SFO — 62% on time
More flights from San Francisco
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SFO → LAX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.