SFO to CLD flight delays
San Francisco, CA (SFO) Carlsbad, CA (CLD) · 422 miles
188 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
78.61%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.53%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
76 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
17 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. CLD to SFO arrives on time 38.6 points less 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.
The shape of the lateness matters here. Flights on this route are not late often, but when they are late they are late by about 76 minutes — long enough to lose a connection or an evening. The on-time percentage looks reassuring and understates the consequence of being on the wrong flight.
Only SkyWest 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.
The San Francisco to Carlsbad route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, SkyWest Airlines arrived on time most often on SFO to CLD. Flights ran closest to schedule in March and worst in May.
Every airline on SFO to CLD
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 188 | 78.61% | 0.53% | 76 min | C |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
CLD to SFO Carlsbad back to San Francisco 40% on time FOther routes from San Francisco
Common questions
Are flights from San Francisco to Carlsbad usually delayed?
78.61% of flights on the SFO to CLD route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from San Francisco to Carlsbad?
Only SkyWest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 188 flights and 78.61% arriving on time.
How often are SFO to CLD flights cancelled?
0.53% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 5 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When SFO to CLD flights are late, how late are they?
About 76 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 CLD 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 →