PHX to SFO flight delays
Phoenix, AZ (PHX) San Francisco, CA (SFO) · 651 miles
383 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
37.34%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
65 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
42 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Flights from Phoenix to San Francisco arrive late more often than they arrive on time. At this rate lateness is the normal outcome, not the exception, and the schedule is better read as an aspiration than a plan.
The two directions do not behave alike. SFO to PHX arrives on time 27.1 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. PHX as a whole runs 32.3 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 American 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.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, American Airlines arrived on time most often on PHX to SFO.
Every airline on PHX 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 119 | 34.45% | 0% | 94 min | F |
| United Airlines | 97 | 37.11% | 0% | 48 min | — |
| Southwest Airlines | 86 | 36.05% | 0% | 51 min | — |
| SkyWest Airlines | 51 | 31.37% | 0% | 57 min | — |
| Frontier Airlines | 30 | 63.33% | 0% | 59 min | — |
The return leg
SFO to PHX San Francisco back to Phoenix 64.49% on time DOther routes from Phoenix
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on PHX 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 →