Flights Los Angeles → Santa Barbara
LAX → SBA
How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara?
The flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Santa Barbara (SBA) takes about 36 min. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
This flight route operates between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, utilizing Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft. With a high on-time performance rate of 91%, the average delay is just under twelve minutes at 11.4 minutes per flight, based on 167 total flights recorded.
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 Los Angeles (LAX) → Santa Barbara (SBA) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 426 flights monitored in recent months, 91% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 6 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.00%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 19.7/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Santa Barbara the average ATFM delay is 3.6 minutes (main cause: airspace/NAS (BTS)). Departing from Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Santa Barbara: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to Santa Barbara (SBA) heads north-west for about 142 km, a flight time of roughly 36m.
Departures from Los Angeles on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 53% of LAX-SBA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Santa Barbara it is 3.6 min (airspace/NAS (BTS)).
Across 426 tracked LAX-SBA flights, 91% left on time with an average delay of 6 min and a 0.0% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating LAX-SBA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about LAX-SBA
The flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Santa Barbara (SBA) takes about 36 min. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the Los Angeles (LAX) -> Santa Barbara (SBA) route, on-time performance is 91% with an average delay of 6 minutes, based on 426 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Los Angeles-Santa Barbara is 0.00% across 426 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 Santa Barbara, 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.
