Flights San Diego → Oakland
SAN → OAK
How long is the flight from San Diego to Oakland?
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to Oakland (OAK) takes 1h 17m 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 San Diego to Oakland is serviced by Boeing 737-300 aircraft and has a 71% on-time performance rate, with an average delay of 13.8 minutes when flights are not on time. Over the past year, there have been 712 total flights on this route between San Diego International Airport, which opened in 1928, and Oakland International Airport, established in 1927, serving over eleven 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 San Diego (SAN) → Oakland (OAK) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 2134 flights monitored in recent months, 66% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 16 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.70%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.6/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Oakland the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Oakland: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Diego (SAN) to Oakland (OAK) heads north-west for about 718 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 17m.
Departures from San Diego on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 41% of SAN-OAK flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Oakland it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 2,134 tracked SAN-OAK flights, 66% left on time with an average delay of 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 75% | 5 min | 0.3% |
Airlines operating SAN-OAK
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SAN-OAK
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to Oakland (OAK) takes 1h 17m 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 San Diego (SAN) -> Oakland (OAK) route, on-time performance is 66% with an average delay of 16 minutes, based on 2134 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Diego-Oakland is 0.70% across 2134 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Oakland, 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.
