Flights San Diego → Philadelphia
SAN → PHL
How long is the flight from San Diego to Philadelphia?
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to Philadelphia (PHL) takes 4h 48m 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 Philadelphia operates with an Airbus A320 and has a high on-time performance rate of 87%, with an average delay of just 12.5 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this route has seen 256 flights departing from San Diego International Airport, which opened in 1928, heading to Philadelphia, where the airport serves over 28 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) → Philadelphia (PHL) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 642 flights monitored in recent months, 86% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 10 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.56%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Diego (SAN) to Philadelphia (PHL) heads north-east for about 3,806 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 48m.
Departures from San Diego on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 65% of SAN-PHL flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Philadelphia it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 642 tracked SAN-PHL flights, 86% left on time with an average delay of 10 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 SAN-PHL
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SAN-PHL
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to Philadelphia (PHL) takes 4h 48m 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) -> Philadelphia (PHL) route, on-time performance is 86% with an average delay of 10 minutes, based on 642 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Diego-Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, 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.
