SFO to ANC flight delays
San Francisco, CA (SFO) Anchorage, AK (ANC) · 2,018 miles
291 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
84.54%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
46 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
8 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 6.5 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.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from SFO overall run 7.4 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion SFO has, this route is largely escaping it.
This is a thin route — 291 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 San Francisco to Anchorage 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, United Airlines arrived on time most often on SFO to ANC. Alaska Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in October.
Every airline on SFO to ANC
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 157 | 81.53% | 0% | 37 min | B |
| United Airlines | 134 | 88.06% | 0% | 62 min | A |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
ANC to SFO Anchorage back to San Francisco 83.74% on time BOther routes from San Francisco
Common questions
Are flights from San Francisco to Anchorage usually delayed?
84.54% of flights on the SFO to ANC 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 airline is most on time from San Francisco to Anchorage?
United Airlines, at 88.06% on time across 134 flights. The least punctual on the route was Alaska Airlines at 81.53%.
How often are SFO to ANC flights cancelled?
0% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 1 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When SFO to ANC flights are late, how late are they?
About 46 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 SFO to ANC 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 →