Flights Raleigh-durham → San Francisco
RDU → SFO
How long is the flight from Raleigh-durham to San Francisco?
The flight from Raleigh-durham (RDU) to San Francisco (SFO) 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 Raleigh-Durham to San Francisco operates with a high level of punctuality, with 87% of flights arriving on time. Over the course of a year, an average of 187 flights are conducted using Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft models, experiencing a mean delay of 8.1 minutes per flight. The destination airport sees over 50 million passengers annually, underscoring its significance as a major travel hub.
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 Raleigh-durham (RDU) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 474 flights monitored in recent months, 74% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 17 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.84%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.8/100 (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 Raleigh-durham the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Raleigh-durham (RDU) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 3,853 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 9m.
Departures from Raleigh-durham on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 51% of RDU-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Raleigh-durham the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 474 tracked RDU-SFO flights, 74% left on time with an average delay of 17 min and a 0.8% 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 RDU-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about RDU-SFO
The flight from Raleigh-durham (RDU) to San Francisco (SFO) 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 Raleigh-durham (RDU) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 74% with an average delay of 17 minutes, based on 474 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Raleigh-durham-San Francisco is 0.84% across 474 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 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.
