Flights San Francisco → Los Angeles
SFO → LAX
How long is the flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles?
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles (LAX) takes 53 min on average. That is the median time recorded across 3 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 Francisco to Los Angeles operates with a high frequency of 2,877 flights annually and boasts an on-time performance rate of 78%, with an average delay time of 11.2 minutes when delays do occur. The diverse fleet includes aircraft such as the Boeing 737 series, Airbus A319 and A320 models, Embraer 175, and Boeing 757 variants, serving one of the busiest airports in the United States, which opened in 1926 and currently handles over 76 million passengers per year.
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) → Los Angeles (LAX) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 7183 flights monitored in recent months, 71% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 16 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.38%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 28.5/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles (LAX) heads south-east for about 543 km, a flight time of roughly 53m.
Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 46% of SFO-LAX flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Los Angeles it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 7,183 tracked SFO-LAX flights, 71% left on time with an average delay of 16 min and a 1.4% 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% |
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 85% | -1 min | 0.5% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 75% | 5 min | 0.3% |
Airlines operating SFO-LAX
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SFO-LAX
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles (LAX) takes 53 min on average. That is the median time recorded across 3 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) -> Los Angeles (LAX) route, on-time performance is 71% with an average delay of 16 minutes, based on 7183 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Los Angeles is 1.38% across 7183 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 5 airlines: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Los Angeles, 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.
