Flights San Diego → San Francisco
SAN → SFO
How long is the flight from San Diego to San Francisco?
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 1h 5m on average. That is the median time recorded across 7 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 San Francisco operates with a mix of aircraft including Boeing 737-900, Boeing 737-800, Airbus A320, Airbus A319, and Boeing 737-300. With an on-time performance rate of 70%, the route experiences an average delay of 15 minutes per flight, based on a total of 1663 flights recorded.
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) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by United Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 4272 flights monitored in recent months, 59% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 23 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.62%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 30.2/100 (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 San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) heads north-west for about 719 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 5m.
Departures from San Diego on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 44% of SAN-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 4,272 tracked SAN-SFO flights, 59% left on time with an average delay of 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 75% | 5 min | 0.3% |
Airlines operating SAN-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SAN-SFO
The flight from San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 1h 5m on average. That is the median time recorded across 7 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) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 59% with an average delay of 23 minutes, based on 4272 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Diego-San Francisco is 1.62% across 4272 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: United Airlines, Southwest 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.
