MCO to SFO flight delays
Orlando, FL (MCO) San Francisco, CA (SFO) · 2,446 miles
1,454 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
77.63%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.62%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
71 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
17 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. United Airlines arrived on time 13 points more often than Alaska Airlines over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The season swings this route hard. In March it ran 23 points more punctual than in July — 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. SFO to MCO arrives on time 7.5 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.
The Orlando to San Francisco route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, United Airlines arrived on time most often on MCO to SFO. Alaska Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in March and worst in July.
Every airline on MCO 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 | 1,065 | 80.66% | 0.38% | 75 min | B |
| Alaska Airlines | 340 | 67.66% | 0.88% | 64 min | D |
| Frontier Airlines | 49 | 80.85% | 4.08% | 76 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SFO to MCO San Francisco back to Orlando 85.1% on time BOther routes from Orlando
Common questions
Are flights from Orlando to San Francisco usually delayed?
77.63% of flights on the MCO to SFO route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Orlando to San Francisco?
United Airlines, at 80.66% on time across 1,065 flights. The least punctual on the route was Alaska Airlines at 67.66%.
How often are MCO to SFO flights cancelled?
0.62% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 6 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Orlando to San Francisco?
March, when 88.3% of flights arrived on time. The worst was July at 65.3%.
When MCO to SFO flights are late, how late are they?
About 71 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 MCO to SFO 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 →