Flights Minneapolis → San Francisco
MSP → SFO
How long is the flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco?
The flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 3h 35m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Minneapolis to San Francisco operates with a high level of punctuality, with 77% of flights arriving on time. Over the course of a year, an average of 437 flights are conducted using various aircraft models including Boeing and Airbus variants, serving a destination airport that handles nearly 50 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 Minneapolis (MSP) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by Air France, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1158 flights monitored in recent months, 69% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 17 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.60%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.2/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Minneapolis the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Minneapolis (MSP) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 2,551 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 35m.
Departures from Minneapolis on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 39% of MSP-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Minneapolis the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,158 tracked MSP-SFO flights, 69% left on time with an average delay of 17 min and a 0.6% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 85% | 1 min | 0.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| Air France (AF) | 82% | 28 min | 0.0% |
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) | 82% | 19 min | 5.9% |
Airlines operating MSP-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MSP-SFO
The flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 3h 35m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Minneapolis (MSP) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 69% with an average delay of 17 minutes, based on 1158 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Minneapolis-San Francisco is 0.60% across 1158 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 5 airlines: Air France, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United 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.
