Flights San Francisco → Raleigh-durham
SFO → RDU
How long is the flight from San Francisco to Raleigh-durham?
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Raleigh-durham (RDU) takes 4h 53m on average. That is the median time recorded across 1 scheduled flight 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 Raleigh-Durham operates with a high level of punctuality, achieving on-time performance of 91%. Over the course of the year, it has recorded an average delay of just 0.9 minutes per flight across 187 total flights, using Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft models. The destination airport serves over 14 million passengers annually, highlighting its significance as a major travel hub.
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) → Raleigh-durham (RDU) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 475 flights monitored in recent months, 87% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 6 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.05%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 15.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Raleigh-durham 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 Raleigh-durham: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Raleigh-durham (RDU) heads east for about 3,853 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 53m.
Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 49% of SFO-RDU flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Raleigh-durham it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 475 tracked SFO-RDU flights, 87% left on time with an average delay of 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating SFO-RDU
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SFO-RDU
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Raleigh-durham (RDU) takes 4h 53m on average. That is the median time recorded across 1 scheduled flight on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the San Francisco (SFO) -> Raleigh-durham (RDU) route, on-time performance is 87% with an average delay of 6 minutes, based on 475 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Raleigh-durham is 1.05% across 475 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Raleigh-durham, 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.
