BWI to SMF flight delays
Baltimore, MD (BWI) Sacramento, CA (SMF) · 2,395 miles
364 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
62.88%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.55%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
54 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
21 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In September it ran 41.5 points more punctual than in December — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
The two directions do not behave alike. SMF to BWI arrives on time 20.4 points more often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
This is a late route. Flights from Baltimore to Sacramento miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
This route does worse than its own airport. BWI as a whole runs 10.2 points more punctual than these flights, which points at something specific to the route — the time of day it is scheduled, or the aircraft that feed it — rather than the airport.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on BWI to SMF. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in December.
Every airline on BWI to SMF
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 364 | 62.88% | 0.55% | 54 min | F |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SMF to BWI Sacramento back to Baltimore 83.33% on time BCommon questions
Are flights from Baltimore to Sacramento usually delayed?
62.88% of flights on the BWI to SMF route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 4 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Baltimore to Sacramento?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 364 flights and 62.88% arriving on time.
How often are BWI to SMF flights cancelled?
0.55% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 6 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Baltimore to Sacramento?
September, when 86.7% of flights arrived on time. The worst was December at 45.2%.
When BWI to SMF flights are late, how late are they?
About 54 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on BWI to SMF during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →