SFO to CLE flight delays
San Francisco, CA (SFO) Cleveland, OH (CLE) · 2,161 miles
586 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
85.93%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
52 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
The season swings this route hard. In September it ran 23.3 points more punctual than in May — 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.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from SFO overall run 8.8 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion SFO has, this route is largely escaping it.
Only United 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.
Flights from San Francisco to Cleveland 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 CLE. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in May.
Every airline on SFO to CLE
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 586 | 85.93% | 0% | 52 min | A |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
CLE to SFO Cleveland back to San Francisco 86.54% on time AOther routes from San Francisco
Common questions
Are flights from San Francisco to Cleveland usually delayed?
85.93% of flights on the SFO to CLE 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 San Francisco to Cleveland?
Only United Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 586 flights and 85.93% arriving on time.
How often are SFO to CLE flights cancelled?
0% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 1 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly San Francisco to Cleveland?
September, when 96.5% of flights arrived on time. The worst was May at 73.2%.
When SFO to CLE flights are late, how late are they?
About 52 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 CLE 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 →