Flights Atlanta → San Francisco
ATL → SFO
Route overview
The flight route from Atlanta to San Francisco operates with a high level of punctuality, achieving an on-time performance rate of 81%. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 785 flights, each averaging a delay of about 10.8 minutes, and serves one of the busiest airports in terms of annual passenger traffic at around 50 million passengers per year. The aircraft used on this route include various Boeing models such as the 767-300, 737-900, 757, 737-700, and 737-800.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Atlanta (ATL) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by Air France, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 989 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 12 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.91%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.9/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Atlanta the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Atlanta (ATL) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 3,435 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 43m.
Departures from Atlanta on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 43% of ATL-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Atlanta the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 989 tracked ATL-SFO flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 12 min and a 0.9% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) | 84% | 20 min | 0.0% |
| Air France (AF) | 82% | 18 min | 3.3% |
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating ATL-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about ATL-SFO
On the Atlanta (ATL) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 12 minutes, based on 989 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Atlanta-San Francisco is 0.91% across 989 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 5 airlines: Air France, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at San Francisco, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
