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Flights San Francisco → Boston

SFO → BOS

5h 8m
Flight time
29.3
Average risk (Medium)
73%
On-time
20 min
Average delay
2.2%
Cancellations
2
Airlines

How long is the flight from San Francisco to Boston?

The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Boston (BOS) takes 5h 8m on average. That is the median time recorded across 8 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.

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) → Boston (BOS) route is operated by JetBlue Airways, United Airlines. Across 2900 flights monitored in recent months, 73% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 20 minutes. The cancellation rate is 2.24%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 29.3/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Boston the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.

Heading to Boston: what to expect in this direction

Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Boston (BOS) heads north-east for about 4,341 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 8m.

Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 48% of SFO-BOS flights take off then.

Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Boston it is 5.5 min (atfm).

Across 2,900 tracked SFO-BOS flights, 73% left on time with an average delay of 20 min and a 2.2% cancellation rate.

Route facts

Time difference
3h ahead
Arrival (dest. local time)
13:08
Elevation BOS
20 ft
Typical aircraft
Airbus A320, Boeing 757-200
Est. CO₂/passenger
~434 kg

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Airline punctuality on this route

Airline On-time Average delay Cancellations
United Airlines (UA) 83% 5 min 1.3%
JetBlue Airways (B6) 79% 7 min 0.1%

Frequently asked questions about SFO-BOS

The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Boston (BOS) takes 5h 8m on average. That is the median time recorded across 8 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.

On the San Francisco (SFO) -> Boston (BOS) route, on-time performance is 73% with an average delay of 20 minutes, based on 2900 tracked flights.

The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Boston is 2.24% across 2900 monitored flights.

The route is operated by 2 airlines: JetBlue Airways, United Airlines.

Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Boston, 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.