SBA to SMF flight delays
Santa Barbara, CA (SBA) Sacramento, CA (SMF) · 310 miles
365 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
82.87%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.82%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
57 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
10 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In January it ran 29 points more punctual than in October — 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 route has been getting better. The later months in the record run 11.9 points more punctual than the earlier ones, which usually means a schedule that was too tight has been given more room.
The two directions do not behave alike. SMF to SBA arrives on time 5.7 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.
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 SMF. Flights ran closest to schedule in January and worst in October.
Every airline on SBA 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 | 365 | 82.87% | 0.82% | 57 min | B |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
SMF to SBA Sacramento back to Santa Barbara 88.58% on time AOther routes from Santa Barbara
Common questions
Are flights from Santa Barbara to Sacramento usually delayed?
82.87% of flights on the SBA 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 Santa Barbara to Sacramento?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 365 flights and 82.87% arriving on time.
How often are SBA to SMF flights cancelled?
0.82% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 8 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Santa Barbara to Sacramento?
January, when 93.5% of flights arrived on time. The worst was October at 64.5%.
When SBA to SMF flights are late, how late are they?
About 57 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 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 →