Best time to fly out of Santa Barbara (SBA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Santa Barbara: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.2% of the time, against 75.5% in the 2–4pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 91 | 90 | 92 | 95 | 92 | 93 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 94 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 79 | 82 | 82 | 84 | 81 | 79 | 78 |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 82 | 89 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 74 | 81 | 81 | 78 | 77 | 78 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 80 | 79 | 75 | 72 | 79 | 69 |
| 4–6pm | 84 | 88 | 85 | 82 | 76 | 86 | 77 |
| 6–8pm | 72 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 75 | 82 | 72 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SBA was Before 6am — 92.2% of departures left on time across 2,590 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 75.5%. 6–8am departures from SBA left on time 91.8% of the time across 4,497 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.5% across 2,546. That is a gap of 16.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SBA
June was the hard month at SBA: 80.1% of departures left on time, across 2,162 flights. January was the easy one at 85.5%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85.5% | 1,767 |
| February | 82.6% | 1,673 |
| March | 83.8% | 1,943 |
| April | 81.6% | 1,992 |
| May | 82.2% | 2,218 |
| June | 80.1% | 2,162 |
| July | 80.6% | 2,127 |
| August | 84.2% | 2,041 |
| September | 84.6% | 1,941 |
| October | 83.6% | 2,071 |
| November | 84% | 1,988 |
| December | 82.6% | 1,883 |
Airlines at SBA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SBA, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 86.3% | 88 min | 1.1% | 6,984 |
| Southwest Airlines | 83.1% | 55 min | 0.8% | 5,710 |
| United Airlines | 79.3% | 80 min | 1.4% | 4,760 |
| American Airlines | 78% | 112 min | 1.2% | 2,950 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.5% | 112 min | 1.3% | 1,414 |
| Alaska Airlines | 82.3% | 53 min | 1% | 1,034 |
| Envoy Air | 88.2% | 63 min | 1% | 954 |
What delays out of SBA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,156 flights that departed SBA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.6% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.6%
- Airline operations 28.6%
- Air traffic & airport volume 25.7%
- Severe weather 7%
- Security 0.2%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through SBA
Of 23,809 scheduled arrivals into SBA, 80.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,341 arrivals that ran late, 58.5% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of SBA
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
- SFO 69.7% on time · 4,173 flights
- PHX 84.6% on time · 4,014 flights
- DEN 84.3% on time · 3,408 flights
- LAS 86% on time · 2,666 flights
- LAX 90% on time · 2,083 flights
- SLC 93% on time · 1,860 flights
- DFW 74.3% on time · 1,313 flights
- SEA 79.6% on time · 1,161 flights
- SMF 87.7% on time · 1,056 flights
- OAK 85.4% on time · 1,027 flights
SBA in one number
Santa Barbara (SBA)
Rank 112 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about SBA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Santa Barbara?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.2% of the time across 2,590 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 75.5%.
- Is the early flight out of SBA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SBA left on time 91.8% of the time across 4,497 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.5% across 2,546. That is a gap of 16.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SBA?
- June: 80.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,162 scheduled. January was the other end of the year at 85.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SBA?
- Envoy Air — 88.2% of its 954 departures from SBA left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 78% over 2,950 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SBA?
- 1.1% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.