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Flights Houston → Sacramento

IAH → SMF

14.1
Average risk (Low)
76%
On-time
13 min
Average delay
3.1%
Cancellations
1
Airlines

Route overview

The flight route from Houston to Sacramento operates with a mix of Boeing 737-900, Airbus A320, and Boeing 737-800 aircraft. With an on-time performance rate of 79%, the flights experience an average delay of 10.8 minutes, based on a total of 162 flights recorded for this route. The destination airport serves over twelve million passengers annually.

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 Houston (IAH) → Sacramento (SMF) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 193 flights monitored in recent months, 76% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 13 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.11%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 14.1/100 (low), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Sacramento the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Houston the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.

Heading to Sacramento: what to expect in this direction

Flying from Houston (IAH) to Sacramento (SMF) heads north-west for about 2,586 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 39m.

Departures from Houston on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 62% of IAH-SMF flights take off then.

Air-traffic congestion: departing Houston the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Sacramento it is 2.0 min (atfm).

Across 193 tracked IAH-SMF flights, 76% left on time with an average delay of 13 min and a 3.1% cancellation rate.

Route facts

Time difference
2h behind
Arrival (dest. local time)
08:39
Elevation SMF
27 ft
Typical aircraft
Boeing 737-900, Airbus A320
Est. CO₂/passenger
~259 kg

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Airline punctuality on this route

Airline On-time Average delay Cancellations
United Airlines (UA) 74% 10 min 6.9%

Airlines operating IAH-SMF

Frequently asked questions about IAH-SMF

On the Houston (IAH) -> Sacramento (SMF) route, on-time performance is 76% with an average delay of 13 minutes, based on 193 tracked flights.

The cancellation rate on Houston-Sacramento is 3.11% across 193 monitored flights.

The route is operated by 1 airline: United Airlines.

Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Sacramento, 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.