SMF to LAX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport · 373 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SMF or LAX right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Sacramento (SMF) to Los Angeles (LAX) arrived on time 85% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.4% were cancelled, and 4% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (90% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (77%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (94% on time); around 5pm did worst (72%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (91% on time) and Sunday the least (82%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (43%).
Which airline is most on time from SMF 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 96% | 1.3% | 1 min | 0.0% | 76 |
| United Airlines | 92% | 0.0% | 8 min | 2.5% | 201 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 90% | 0.4% | 10 min | 3.9% | 3,509 |
| Southwest Airlines | 77% | 0.3% | 12 min | 5.4% | 1,631 |
| Frontier Airlines | 73% | 2.2% | 17 min | 7.7% | 226 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am94%937 flights
- 7am86%368 flights
- 8am91%139 flights
- 9am88%375 flights
- 10am90%444 flights
- 11am88%459 flights
- 12pm84%201 flights
- 1pm92%154 flights
- 2pm85%463 flights
- 3pm75%165 flights
- 4pm82%260 flights
- 5pm72%353 flights
- 6pm83%442 flights
- 7pm80%332 flights
- 8pm81%433 flights
- 9pm70%74 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday84%0.4% cancelled
- Tuesday90%0.3% cancelled
- Wednesday91%0.1% cancelled
- Thursday84%0.5% cancelled
- Friday84%0.5% cancelled
- Saturday86%0.6% cancelled
- Sunday82%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 aircraft43%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)38%
- Extreme weather11%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion7%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather44%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)36%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion20%
- Security0%
SMF to LAX: common questions
- How often are SMF to LAX flights on time?
- 85% 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 Sacramento to Los Angeles cancelled?
- 0.4% of scheduled flights were cancelled (25 of 5,643).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 11 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 68 min behind schedule on average, and 4.4% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SMF?
- Flights on this route spent 17 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: LAX to SMF — 85% on time
More flights from Sacramento
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SMF → LAX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.