SMF to SNA flight delays
Sacramento, CA (SMF) Santa Ana, CA (SNA) · 404 miles
189 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
81.48%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
35 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
7 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from SMF overall run 7.1 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion SMF has, this route is largely escaping it.
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.
The Sacramento to Santa Ana route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on SMF to SNA.
Every airline on SMF 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 189 | 81.48% | 0% | 35 min | B |
The return leg
SNA to SMF Santa Ana back to Sacramento 82.45% on time BOther routes from Sacramento
Common questions
Are flights from Sacramento to Santa Ana usually delayed?
81.48% of flights on the SMF to SNA 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 Sacramento to Santa Ana?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 189 flights and 81.48% arriving on time.
How often are SMF to SNA flights cancelled?
0% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 1 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When SMF to SNA flights are late, how late are they?
About 35 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 SMF 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 →