SFO to SNA flight delays
San Francisco, CA (SFO) Santa Ana, CA (SNA) · 372 miles
373 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
68.94%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.34%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
66 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
22 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. SNA to SFO arrives on time 26.2 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.
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.
Flights from San Francisco to Santa Ana run late more often than the average route, though not severely.
This is a thin route — 373 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.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, SkyWest Airlines arrived on time most often on SFO to SNA.
Every airline on SFO to SNA
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 | 263 | 65.12% | 1.52% | 52 min | D |
| United Airlines | 90 | 75.56% | 0% | 79 min | — |
| Frontier Airlines | 20 | 89.47% | 5% | 549 min | — |
The return leg
SNA to SFO Santa Ana back to San Francisco 42.7% on time FOther routes from San Francisco
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on SFO to SNA during March 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 →