HNL to SFO flight delays
Honolulu, HI (HNL) San Francisco, CA (SFO) · 2,398 miles
270 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
74.16%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.11%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
44 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
13 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. SFO to HNL arrives on time 9.8 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 route does worse than its own airport. HNL as a whole runs 11.5 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.
Only United Airlines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
This is a thin route — 270 flights across the whole period. On a route this infrequent a cancellation is far more costly than the rate suggests, because the next departure may not be the same day.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, United Airlines arrived on time most often on HNL to SFO.
Every airline on HNL to SFO
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 210 | 76.08% | 0.48% | 50 min | C |
| Alaska Airlines | 60 | 67.24% | 3.33% | 27 min | — |
The return leg
SFO to HNL San Francisco back to Honolulu 83.96% on time BOther routes from Honolulu
Common questions
Are flights from Honolulu to San Francisco usually delayed?
74.16% of flights on the HNL to SFO route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Honolulu to San Francisco?
Only United Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 210 flights and 76.08% arriving on time.
How often are HNL to SFO flights cancelled?
1.11% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 11 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When HNL to SFO flights are late, how late are they?
About 44 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 HNL to SFO during March 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 →