Flights Sacramento → San Francisco
SMF → SFO
How long is the flight from Sacramento to San Francisco?
The flight from Sacramento (SMF) to San Francisco (SFO) 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
The flight route from Sacramento to San Francisco operates with an average on-time performance of 73%, experiencing a mean delay of 22.5 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 345 flights using Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft, serving one of the busiest airports in terms of annual passengers at around 50 million.
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 Sacramento (SMF) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 775 flights monitored in recent months, 69% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 23 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.65%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.9/100 (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 Sacramento the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Sacramento (SMF) to San Francisco (SFO) heads south-west for about 138 km, a flight time of roughly 36m.
Departures from Sacramento on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 54% of SMF-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Sacramento the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 775 tracked SMF-SFO flights, 69% left on time with an average delay of 23 min and a 0.7% 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 SMF-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SMF-SFO
The flight from Sacramento (SMF) to San Francisco (SFO) 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 Sacramento (SMF) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 69% with an average delay of 23 minutes, based on 775 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Sacramento-San Francisco is 0.65% across 775 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.
