SFO to PHX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Francisco International Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport · 651 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SFO or PHX 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 Phoenix (PHX) arrived on time 74% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.8% were cancelled, and 9% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (87% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (60%).
- Departures scheduled around 5am did best (96% on time); around 1pm did worst (53%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (81% on time) and Monday the least (68%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (56%).
Which airline is most on time from SFO to PHX?
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. | 87% | 0.7% | 11 min | 4.1% | 545 |
| United Airlines | 81% | 0.4% | 12 min | 5.6% | 1,473 |
| American Airlines | 75% | 0.8% | 26 min | 10.0% | 1,319 |
| Frontier Airlines | 62% | 3.3% | 39 min | 19.0% | 273 |
| Southwest Airlines | 60% | 0.6% | 24 min | 12.2% | 1,080 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am96%364 flights
- 6am94%279 flights
- 7am92%209 flights
- 8am88%343 flights
- 9am82%218 flights
- 10am60%276 flights
- 11am68%329 flights
- 12pm69%440 flights
- 1pm53%165 flights
- 2pm57%96 flights
- 3pm58%329 flights
- 4pm73%512 flights
- 5pm55%67 flights
- 6pm67%426 flights
- 7pm73%257 flights
- 8pm72%147 flights
- 9pm72%183 flights
- 10pm62%50 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday68%0.9% cancelled
- Tuesday79%0.8% cancelled
- Wednesday77%1.0% cancelled
- Thursday73%0.6% cancelled
- Friday72%0.4% cancelled
- Saturday81%1.0% cancelled
- Sunday70%0.8% 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 aircraft56%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)33%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion10%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)39%
- Extreme weather36%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion25%
- Security0%
SFO to PHX: common questions
- How often are SFO to PHX flights on time?
- 74% 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 Phoenix cancelled?
- 0.8% of scheduled flights were cancelled (36 of 4,690).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 20 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 73 min behind schedule on average, and 8.9% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SFO?
- Flights on this route spent 20 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: PHX to SFO — 66% 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 → PHX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.