SNA to SMF flight delays
SNA SMF John Wayne Orange to Sacramento · 404 miles
6,765 flights were scheduled from SNA to SMF over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 6,714 that made the trip, 85% 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
- 6,765
- Arrived on time
- 85%
- Cancelled
- 0.7%
- 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 SNA–SMF, 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% | 46 min | 0.7% | 6,765 |
Month by month
June was the month to avoid on SNA–SMF: 81.1% of flights arrived on time, against 89.9% in January. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 89.9% | 547 |
| February | 88.5% | 515 |
| March | 86.1% | 582 |
| April | 82.4% | 551 |
| May | 84.9% | 564 |
| June | 81.1% | 572 |
| July | 81.7% | 576 |
| August | 84.2% | 584 |
| September | 85.1% | 565 |
| October | 83.3% | 553 |
| November | 87.6% | 567 |
| December | 85.9% | 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.
SNA to SMF in one number
SNA → SMF
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 46 min.
Questions about SNA to SMF
- How often do SNA to SMF flights arrive on time?
- 85% of the time, across the 6,714 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 SNA to SMF?
- June, at 81.1% of arrivals on time, with 572 flights scheduled. January was the best of the year at 89.9%.
- How late are SNA–SMF flights when they are late?
- 46 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 SNA to SMF flight cancelled?
- 0.7% 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 SMF 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.