PSP to SMF flight delays
Palm Springs, CA (PSP) Sacramento, CA (SMF) · 439 miles
512 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
83.83%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.59%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
53 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
9 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In July it ran 30 points more punctual than in September — 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.
Only Southwest 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 — 512 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.
Flights from Palm Springs to Sacramento keep to schedule more reliably than most. On a route this punctual the day you fly matters more than the airline you pick.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on PSP to SMF. Flights ran closest to schedule in July and worst in September.
Every airline on PSP 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 | 512 | 83.83% | 0.59% | 53 min | B |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SMF to PSP Sacramento back to Palm Springs 86.47% on time AOther routes from Palm Springs
Common questions
Are flights from Palm Springs to Sacramento usually delayed?
83.83% of flights on the PSP to SMF route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Palm Springs to Sacramento?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 512 flights and 83.83% arriving on time.
How often are PSP to SMF flights cancelled?
0.59% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 6 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Palm Springs to Sacramento?
July, when 100% of flights arrived on time. The worst was September at 70%.
When PSP to SMF flights are late, how late are they?
About 53 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 PSP 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 →