SMF to SNA flight delays
SMF SNA Sacramento to John Wayne Orange · 404 miles
6,766 flights were scheduled from SMF to SNA over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 6,730 that made the trip, 85.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The route in brief
- Flights in the window
- 6,766
- Arrived on time
- 85.8%
- Cancelled
- 0.5%
- Scheduled distance
- 404 miles
Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.
Airline by airline
Airlines with at least 100 flights on SMF–SNA, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.
| Airline | Arrived on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 85.8% | 43 min | 0.5% | 6,766 |
Month by month
October was the month to avoid on SMF–SNA: 82.9% of flights arrived on time, against 88.8% in September. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 88.6% | 547 |
| February | 88.3% | 515 |
| March | 87% | 582 |
| April | 85% | 551 |
| May | 86% | 564 |
| June | 83.1% | 572 |
| July | 83.7% | 576 |
| August | 85.4% | 584 |
| September | 88.8% | 565 |
| October | 82.9% | 554 |
| November | 86.9% | 567 |
| December | 84.6% | 589 |
Both ends of the route
A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.
SMF to SNA in one number
SMF → SNA
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 43 min.
Questions about SMF to SNA
- How often do SMF to SNA flights arrive on time?
- 85.8% of the time, across the 6,730 flights that actually made the trip, July 2023 through June 2026. No single airline flew enough of them to be rated separately.
- What is the worst month to fly SMF to SNA?
- October, at 82.9% of arrivals on time, with 554 flights scheduled. September was the best of the year at 88.8%.
- How late are SMF–SNA flights when they are late?
- 43 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
- How often is the SMF to SNA flight cancelled?
- 0.5% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
- Are these departure or arrival numbers?
- Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at SNA less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.