SMF to SNA flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to John Wayne Orange County International Airport · 404 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SMF or SNA 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 Santa Ana (SNA) arrived on time 84% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.3% were cancelled, and 3% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (98% on time); around 4pm did worst (73%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (91% on time) and Thursday the least (81%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (67%).
Which airline is most on time from SMF to SNA?
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 | 84% | 0.3% | 8 min | 3.2% | 2,310 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am98%117 flights
- 7am94%204 flights
- 8am91%204 flights
- 9am94%140 flights
- 10am91%81 flights
- 11am82%82 flights
- 12pm82%158 flights
- 1pm75%182 flights
- 2pm84%142 flights
- 3pm85%139 flights
- 4pm73%210 flights
- 5pm79%121 flights
- 6pm80%197 flights
- 7pm84%147 flights
- 8pm82%186 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday83%0.8% cancelled
- Tuesday89%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday91%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday81%0.3% cancelled
- Friday83%0.5% cancelled
- Saturday81%0.5% cancelled
- Sunday83%0.3% 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%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)27%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion6%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)100%
- Extreme weather0%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
SMF to SNA: common questions
- How often are SMF to SNA flights on time?
- 84% 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 Santa Ana cancelled?
- 0.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (8 of 2,310).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 8 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 43 min behind schedule on average, and 3.2% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SMF?
- Flights on this route spent 11 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SNA to SMF — 86% 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 → SNA, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.