Flights San Francisco → Philadelphia
SFO → PHL
How long is the flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia?
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Philadelphia (PHL) takes 4h 55m on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 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 Philadelphia operates with a high level of punctuality, with 89% of flights arriving on time. The average delay for the route is only seven minutes, and it sees nearly forty-two dozen flights annually, serving an airport that accommodates over twenty-eight million passengers per year. Various aircraft types are used on this route, including Airbus A320, A321, A319, Boeing 737-800, 737-900, and 757-200 models.
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) → Philadelphia (PHL) route is operated by American Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1278 flights monitored in recent months, 79% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 15 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.56%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 18.7/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Philadelphia (PHL) heads east for about 4,048 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 55m.
Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 48% of SFO-PHL flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Philadelphia it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,278 tracked SFO-PHL flights, 79% left on time with an average delay of 15 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% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating SFO-PHL
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SFO-PHL
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Philadelphia (PHL) takes 4h 55m on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 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) -> Philadelphia (PHL) route, on-time performance is 79% with an average delay of 15 minutes, based on 1278 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Philadelphia is 1.56% across 1278 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: American Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Philadelphia, 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.
