Flights San Diego → Sacramento
SAN → SMF
How long is the flight from San Diego to Sacramento?
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to Sacramento (SMF) takes 1h 9m on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 scheduled flights 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 Sacramento operates with a Boeing 737-300 aircraft and has an on-time performance rate of 74%, with an average delay of 10.7 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this route has seen 1,395 flights, connecting passengers between San Diego International Airport, which opened in 1928, and Sacramento International Airport, which serves over twelve 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) → Sacramento (SMF) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 3472 flights monitored in recent months, 70% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 14 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.66%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.2/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Sacramento 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 Sacramento: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Diego (SAN) to Sacramento (SMF) heads north-west for about 773 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 9m.
Departures from San Diego on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 43% of SAN-SMF flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Sacramento it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 3,472 tracked SAN-SMF flights, 70% left on time with an average delay of 14 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-SMF
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SAN-SMF
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to Sacramento (SMF) takes 1h 9m on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the San Diego (SAN) -> Sacramento (SMF) route, on-time performance is 70% with an average delay of 14 minutes, based on 3472 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Diego-Sacramento is 0.66% across 3472 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 Sacramento, 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.
