Flights San Francisco → Honolulu
SFO → HNL
How long is the flight from San Francisco to Honolulu?
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL) takes 4h 49m on average. That is the median time recorded across 6 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) → Honolulu (HNL) route is operated by Air France, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1625 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 12 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.54%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 19.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Honolulu 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 Honolulu: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL) heads west for about 3,857 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 49m.
Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 49% of SFO-HNL flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Honolulu it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,625 tracked SFO-HNL flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 12 min and a 1.5% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 85% | 1 min | 0.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| Air France (AF) | 82% | 28 min | 0.0% |
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) | 82% | 19 min | 5.9% |
| Hawaiian Airlines (HA) | 78% | 11 min | 1.5% |
Airlines operating SFO-HNL
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SFO-HNL
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL) takes 4h 49m on average. That is the median time recorded across 6 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) -> Honolulu (HNL) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 12 minutes, based on 1625 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Honolulu is 1.54% across 1625 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 5 airlines: Air France, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Honolulu, 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.
