FlightRecord

San Francisco (SFO) to Cleveland (CLE): On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

The calendar drives reliability on SFO–CLE. April 2025 flights landed on schedule 100% of the time, but May 2026 dropped to 73% — a gap of 27 points. Across the full period the route averages 89% on-time against a national 78%.

On-time
89%
arrived <15 min late
Avg delay
8 min
completed flights
Cancelled
0.4%
Flights/day
1.6
last 12 months
Duration
4h 45m
scheduled
Distance
2,161 mi

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly on-time percentage for SFO to CLE flights50%75%100%June 2024: 97% on-time (30 flights)97Jun 2024July 2024: 81% on-time (58 flights)81August 2024: 94% on-time (53 flights)94September 2024: 89% on-time (47 flights)89Sep 2024October 2024: 96% on-time (48 flights)96November 2024: 92% on-time (49 flights)92December 2024: 91% on-time (33 flights)91Dec 2024January 2025: 77% on-time (31 flights)77February 2025: 93% on-time (28 flights)93March 2025: 92% on-time (50 flights)92Mar 2025April 2025: 100% on-time (55 flights)100May 2025: 95% on-time (59 flights)95June 2025: 88% on-time (60 flights)88Jun 2025July 2025: 80% on-time (61 flights)80August 2025: 81% on-time (57 flights)81September 2025: 97% on-time (57 flights)97Sep 2025October 2025: 92% on-time (76 flights)92November 2025: 93% on-time (59 flights)93December 2025: 89% on-time (53 flights)89Dec 2025January 2026: 83% on-time (35 flights)83February 2026: 82% on-time (28 flights)82March 2026: 87% on-time (31 flights)87Mar 2026April 2026: 87% on-time (30 flights)87May 2026: 73% on-time (41 flights)73

Best time to fly from SFO to CLE

Aim for departures around 7 a.m. (97% on-time); avoid 12 p.m. departures (81%).

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour, SFO to CLE7 a.m.: 97% on-time (77 flights)78 a.m.: 91% on-time (88 flights)89 a.m.: 93% on-time (147 flights)910 a.m.: 90% on-time (148 flights)1012 p.m.: 81% on-time (32 flights)121 p.m.: 89% on-time (115 flights)133 p.m.: 88% on-time (24 flights)154 p.m.: 89% on-time (53 flights)169 p.m.: 86% on-time (220 flights)2110 p.m.: 88% on-time (178 flights)2211 p.m.: 86% on-time (43 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Mondaybest93%4 min
Tuesday87%6 min
Wednesday90%6 min
Thursday87%14 min
Friday88%7 min
Saturday90%7 min
Sunday88%10 min

What causes delays on this route

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT.

  • Late-arriving aircraft44%
  • Airline operations44%
  • National airspace system13%

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights from SFO to CLE delayed?
11% of SFO–CLE flights arrived 15 or more minutes late (the US DOT definition of a delay) between 2024-06 and 2026-05. The average arrival delay across completed flights was 8 minutes.
What is the best time of day to fly from SFO to CLE?
Departures around 7 a.m. have the best record (97% on-time), while departures around 12 p.m. have the worst (81%). As on most US routes, delays accumulate through the day, so earlier flights are generally safer.
How long is the flight from SFO to CLE?
The scheduled SFO–CLE flight time averages 4h 45m over 2,161 miles. Actual arrival times vary — flights on this route land 15+ minutes late 11% of the time.
How often are SFO to CLE flights cancelled?
0.4% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled between 2024-06 and 2026-05, at or below the national rate of 1.6%.
What is the worst month to fly from SFO to CLE?
May 2026 was the roughest month in this dataset, with only 73% of arrivals on time. The best was April 2025 at 100%. If your dates are flexible, that 27-point gap is worth planning around.

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Based on 1,129 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.