FlightRecord

San Francisco (SFO) to Charlotte (CLT): On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

The calendar drives reliability on SFO–CLT. October 2025 flights landed on schedule 92% of the time, but October 2024 dropped to 75% — a gap of 17 points. Across the full period the route averages 84% on-time against a national 78%.

On-time
84%
arrived <15 min late
Avg delay
18 min
completed flights
Cancelled
1.1%
Flights/day
4.1
last 12 months
Duration
5h 4m
scheduled
Distance
2,296 mi

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly on-time percentage for SFO to CLT flights50%75%100%June 2024: 81% on-time (142 flights)81Jun 2024July 2024: 81% on-time (143 flights)81August 2024: 84% on-time (149 flights)84September 2024: 82% on-time (138 flights)82Sep 2024October 2024: 75% on-time (146 flights)75November 2024: 79% on-time (132 flights)79December 2024: 85% on-time (144 flights)85Dec 2024January 2025: 92% on-time (119 flights)92February 2025: 86% on-time (117 flights)86March 2025: 84% on-time (152 flights)84Mar 2025April 2025: 84% on-time (146 flights)84May 2025: 82% on-time (154 flights)82June 2025: 76% on-time (140 flights)76Jun 2025July 2025: 80% on-time (140 flights)80August 2025: 89% on-time (131 flights)89September 2025: 80% on-time (136 flights)80Sep 2025October 2025: 92% on-time (148 flights)92November 2025: 85% on-time (103 flights)85December 2025: 88% on-time (110 flights)88Dec 2025January 2026: 85% on-time (96 flights)85February 2026: 92% on-time (97 flights)92March 2026: 90% on-time (118 flights)90Mar 2026April 2026: 85% on-time (133 flights)85May 2026: 85% on-time (143 flights)85

Best time to fly from SFO to CLT

Aim for departures around 5 a.m. (93% on-time); avoid 1 p.m. departures (74%).

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour, SFO to CLT5 a.m.: 93% on-time (267 flights)56 a.m.: 97% on-time (29 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (662 flights)78 a.m.: 74% on-time (121 flights)89 a.m.: 77% on-time (349 flights)910 a.m.: 80% on-time (20 flights)1012 p.m.: 79% on-time (58 flights)121 p.m.: 74% on-time (567 flights)139 p.m.: 84% on-time (83 flights)2110 p.m.: 88% on-time (329 flights)2211 p.m.: 82% on-time (371 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday82%21 min
Tuesday85%17 min
Wednesdaybest88%15 min
Thursday82%15 min
Friday84%12 min
Saturday87%14 min
Sunday80%30 min

What causes delays on this route

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft42%
  • Airline operations48%
  • National airspace system9%
  • Weather1%

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights from SFO to CLT delayed?
16% of SFO–CLT 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 18 minutes.
What is the best time of day to fly from SFO to CLT?
Departures around 5 a.m. have the best record (93% on-time), while departures around 1 p.m. have the worst (74%). As on most US routes, delays accumulate through the day, so earlier flights are generally safer.
How long is the flight from SFO to CLT?
The scheduled SFO–CLT flight time averages 5h 4m over 2,296 miles. Actual arrival times vary — flights on this route land 15+ minutes late 16% of the time.
How often are SFO to CLT flights cancelled?
1.1% 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 CLT?
October 2024 was the roughest month in this dataset, with only 75% of arrivals on time. The best was October 2025 at 92%. If your dates are flexible, that 17-point gap is worth planning around.

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Based on 3,177 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.