Flights San Francisco → Atlanta
SFO → ATL
Route overview
The flight route from San Francisco to Atlanta has an on-time performance rate of 80%, with the average delay being 11.5 minutes. This busy route, which serves one of the world's largest airports by annual passenger traffic, operates with a fleet that includes various Boeing aircraft models such as the 767-300, 737-900, 757, and 737 variants including the -700 and -800.
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 Francisco (SFO) → Atlanta (ATL) route is operated by Air France, ITA Airways, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 988 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 11 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.11%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.9/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Atlanta the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Atlanta: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Atlanta (ATL) heads east for about 3,435 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 43m.
Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 50% of SFO-ATL flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Atlanta it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 988 tracked SFO-ATL flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 11 min and a 1.1% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) | 84% | 20 min | 0.0% |
| Air France (AF) | 82% | 18 min | 3.3% |
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
| ITA Airways (AZ) | 59% | 35 min | 4.9% |
Airlines operating SFO-ATL
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SFO-ATL
On the San Francisco (SFO) -> Atlanta (ATL) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 11 minutes, based on 988 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Atlanta is 1.11% across 988 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 6 airlines: Air France, ITA Airways, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Atlanta, 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.
