SBA to OAK flight delays
Santa Barbara, CA (SBA) Oakland, CA (OAK) · 263 miles
296 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
88.78%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.68%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
40 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
5 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In December it ran 27.6 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.
Flights from Santa Barbara to Oakland are among the most dependable in the record. A route this punctual is usually a short hop between airports with slots to spare.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from SBA overall run 7 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion SBA has, this route is largely escaping it.
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.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on SBA to OAK. Flights ran closest to schedule in January and worst in July.
Every airline on SBA to OAK
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 | 296 | 88.78% | 0.68% | 40 min | A |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
OAK to SBA Oakland back to Santa Barbara 86.01% on time BOther routes from Santa Barbara
Common questions
Are flights from Santa Barbara to Oakland usually delayed?
88.78% of flights on the SBA to OAK route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 1 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Santa Barbara to Oakland?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 296 flights and 88.78% arriving on time.
How often are SBA to OAK flights cancelled?
0.68% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 7 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Santa Barbara to Oakland?
December, when 96.8% of flights arrived on time. The worst was July at 69.2%.
When SBA to OAK flights are late, how late are they?
About 40 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 SBA to OAK 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 →