Flights Philadelphia → San Diego
PHL → SAN
How long is the flight from Philadelphia to San Diego?
The flight from Philadelphia (PHL) to San Diego (SAN) takes 5h 9m on average. That is the median time recorded across 1 scheduled flight on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Philadelphia to San Diego operates with an average on-time performance of 83%, experiencing a mean delay of just 5.1 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this Airbus A320 aircraft has completed 256 flights to San Diego International Airport, which opened in 1928 and currently serves over 22 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 Philadelphia (PHL) → San Diego (SAN) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 642 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 11 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.56%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.3/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Philadelphia the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Diego: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Philadelphia (PHL) to San Diego (SAN) heads west for about 3,806 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 9m.
Departures from Philadelphia on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 40% of PHL-SAN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Philadelphia the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Diego it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 642 tracked PHL-SAN flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 11 min and a 1.6% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating PHL-SAN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about PHL-SAN
The flight from Philadelphia (PHL) to San Diego (SAN) takes 5h 9m on average. That is the median time recorded across 1 scheduled flight on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Philadelphia (PHL) -> San Diego (SAN) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 11 minutes, based on 642 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Philadelphia-San Diego is 1.56% across 642 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: American Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at San Diego, 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.
