Flights Seattle → Sacramento
SEA → SMF
Route overview
The flight route from Seattle to Sacramento operates with a high level of punctuality, achieving an on-time performance rate of 81%. Over the course of a year, it sees approximately 1041 flights using Boeing 737 and Boeing 737-300 aircraft, with each flight typically experiencing a mean delay of 7.7 minutes. The destination airport serves over 12 million passengers annually, indicating significant traffic and demand for air travel between these two cities.
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 Seattle (SEA) → Sacramento (SMF) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 1375 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 9 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.31%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.9/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Sacramento the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Seattle the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Sacramento: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Seattle (SEA) to Sacramento (SMF) heads south for about 975 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 38m.
Departures from Seattle on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 44% of SEA-SMF flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Seattle the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Sacramento it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,375 tracked SEA-SMF flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 9 min and a 1.3% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 67% | 10 min | 11.9% |
Airlines operating SEA-SMF
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SEA-SMF
On the Seattle (SEA) -> Sacramento (SMF) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 9 minutes, based on 1375 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Seattle-Sacramento is 1.31% across 1375 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Sacramento, 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.
