Best airline from Washington to San Francisco
Most punctual on this route
78.65% on time across 2,688 flights · 0.89% cancelled
That is 11.3 points clear of Alaska Airlines, the next best on this route at 67.35%.
Every airline on IAD to SFO, ranked
| # | Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Airlines | 2,688 | 78.65% | 0.89% | C |
| 2 | Alaska Airlines | 99 | 67.35% | 1.01% | — |
Why this is worth checking per route
An airline's overall punctuality is an average across everywhere it flies, and averages hide the thing you are booking. A carrier can be middling nationally and the best option on this particular pair of airports — because of which slots it holds, what time of day it schedules, and which aircraft feeds the flight.
On IAD to SFO the spread between best and worst is 11.3 points. Both carriers fly the same corridor, into the same weather and the same air traffic control — so a gap that size is a fact about the airlines, not the route.
Punctuality is one dimension of a good airline and not the one most people would name first. It is, though, the only one measured the same way for everybody and published by someone with no stake in the answer. Full IAD to SFO record → · Best time of year to fly it →