SEA → ANC Flight Reliability

Right now

Origin · SEANo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated 07:53 UTC

Seattle airport profile →

Destination · ANCNo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated 07:53 UTC

Anchorage airport profile →

Route reliability

July 2023 – July 2026

Route Reliability Score

71/ 100Good

Better than 66% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)

Calculated from 22,363 flights. How this is calculated

On-time arrivals

75.8%

16,803 of 22,179

Cancellation rate

0.74%

166 cancelled

Median arrival delay

-2 min

Average 4.8 min

Severe delays

4.5%

60+ minutes late

Delay when late

45 min

Average, when 15+ min late

Flights analyzed

22,363

2 carriers

SEA → ANC arrives on time 75.8% of the time; the return trip, ANC → SEA, arrives on time 84.8% of the time, a 9.1-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.

SEA → ANC spends 26.9 minutes on the ground on a 1,448-mile trip: 21.3 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at SEA and 5.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at ANC.

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026

What stands out

Every day of the week performs about the same on this route, steadier than 91% of 4,467 comparable routes.

78.0% on time on the best day (Wednesday) against 73.1% on the worst (Thursday).

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 4,467 in the comparison.

Why SEA → ANC flights are cancelled

July 2023 – July 2026

SEA → ANC cancelled 166 of 22,363 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 135. The reason filed most often was the airline, 80.7% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 167 scheduled flights.

Share of cancellations

Airline80.7%

Weather16.3%

Air traffic3.0%

Security0.0%

Of 166 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.

What each reason means

The airline1 in 167

Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.

134 cancellations, 80.7% of the total.

Extreme weather1 in 828

Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.

27 cancellations, 16.3% of the total.

The air traffic system1 in 4,473

Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.

5 cancellations, 3.0% of the total.

Security—

A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.

0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.

Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.

166 coded cancellations were recorded on SEA → ANC; the section appears from 50.

When it goes wrong

July 2023 – July 2026

One arrival in ten is worse than

36 min late

against a median of 2 min early

Arrived an hour or more late4.5%

Typical delay when late45 min

Cancelled0.74%

Landed somewhere else0.08%

Percentiles over 22,363 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.

Will your connection be tight enough?

Layovers at ANC after arriving from SEA.

Connection buffer and chance of missing by layover length, SEA → ANC arrivals
Connection time	Chance of missing	Reads as
30 min	46%	Likely to miss
45 min	23%	High risk
60 min	12%	Some risk
90 min	4.4%	Low risk
120 min	2.1%	Low risk

This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 0.74% of the time and diverts 0.08% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.

Chance of missing is the share of 22,179 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.

The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 36 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 22,363 operations.

Any other layover length: connection checker.

Best time to fly

SEA → ANC flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.0% of the time, against 70.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 16.5 percentage points.

By day and hour

On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (SEA).

Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 6.4 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 1.9 points.

On-time arrival rate for SEA to ANC by weekday and scheduled departure hour, local time. Each button reads out one slot.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
7 AM–8 AM
8 AM–9 AM
9 AM–10 AM
10 AM–11 AM
11 AM–12 PM
12 PM–1 PM
1 PM–2 PM
2 PM–3 PM
3 PM–4 PM
4 PM–5 PM
5 PM–6 PM
6 PM–7 PM
7 PM–8 PM
8 PM–9 PM
9 PM–10 PM
10 PM–11 PM
11 PM–12 AM

On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time

50–59
60–69
70–79
80–89
90–99

Fewer than 120 flights, not scored

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.

No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures before 7 AM (797 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.

View as tableHide table

On-time arrival rate (%) with flights beneath, by scheduled departure hour and weekday for SEA to ANC. A dash means fewer than 120 flights, which are not scored.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
7 AM–8 AM	86.5% on time194 flights	88.8% on time189 flights	89.8% on time187 flights	85.9% on time197 flights	91.4% on time190 flights	87.7% on time157 flights	92.1% on time179 flights
8 AM–9 AM	78.7% on time125 flights	113 flights, too few to score	118 flights, too few to score	81.0% on time123 flights	80.5% on time129 flights	108 flights, too few to score	84.1% on time128 flights
9 AM–10 AM	77.1% on time240 flights	78.7% on time231 flights	75.1% on time218 flights	75.6% on time245 flights	73.3% on time241 flights	78.4% on time220 flights	78.3% on time225 flights
10 AM–11 AM	76.4% on time268 flights	73.0% on time259 flights	76.6% on time258 flights	69.3% on time270 flights	77.7% on time266 flights	79.1% on time250 flights	78.8% on time262 flights
11 AM–12 PM	61.9% on time207 flights	65.7% on time213 flights	60.7% on time213 flights	60.8% on time214 flights	61.5% on time212 flights	71.7% on time200 flights	73.1% on time208 flights
12 PM–1 PM	78.3% on time184 flights	76.7% on time172 flights	78.0% on time159 flights	74.2% on time179 flights	79.0% on time168 flights	76.0% on time176 flights	73.6% on time184 flights
1 PM–2 PM	78.9% on time238 flights	82.2% on time226 flights	82.9% on time229 flights	76.7% on time233 flights	80.0% on time225 flights	79.5% on time207 flights	78.3% on time236 flights
2 PM–3 PM	77.6% on time137 flights	84.6% on time137 flights	85.8% on time128 flights	70.9% on time141 flights	74.8% on time133 flights	82.2% on time129 flights	84.1% on time139 flights
3 PM–4 PM	72.0% on time162 flights	73.9% on time155 flights	78.6% on time145 flights	70.6% on time154 flights	78.9% on time162 flights	76.6% on time137 flights	79.1% on time153 flights
4 PM–5 PM	75 flights, too few to score	87 flights, too few to score	79 flights, too few to score	86 flights, too few to score	77 flights, too few to score	78 flights, too few to score	87 flights, too few to score
5 PM–6 PM	66.8% on time266 flights	74.8% on time242 flights	78.4% on time219 flights	69.1% on time247 flights	66.3% on time249 flights	76.3% on time212 flights	72.3% on time254 flights
6 PM–7 PM	72.2% on time126 flights	117 flights, too few to score	119 flights, too few to score	73.9% on time139 flights	77.0% on time123 flights	95 flights, too few to score	76.9% on time143 flights
7 PM–8 PM	71.1% on time202 flights	78.7% on time197 flights	78.2% on time203 flights	78.4% on time186 flights	72.8% on time206 flights	77.4% on time196 flights	75.0% on time204 flights
8 PM–9 PM	75.0% on time149 flights	81.2% on time150 flights	77.5% on time131 flights	70.5% on time149 flights	68.8% on time160 flights	73.2% on time143 flights	70.0% on time172 flights
9 PM–10 PM	69.9% on time292 flights	77.8% on time259 flights	76.6% on time257 flights	72.3% on time272 flights	67.1% on time280 flights	79.4% on time237 flights	71.2% on time285 flights
10 PM–11 PM	58.6% on time193 flights	70.5% on time178 flights	67.2% on time186 flights	59.9% on time197 flights	57.3% on time200 flights	63.2% on time185 flights	58.7% on time208 flights
11 PM–12 AM	74.6% on time126 flights	116 flights, too few to score	115 flights, too few to score	74.2% on time121 flights	76.0% on time121 flights	99 flights, too few to score	76.3% on time186 flights

By departure window

5–9 AM87.0%

9 AM–12 PM72.9%

12–3 PM78.7%

3–6 PM74.0%

6–9 PM75.4%

9 PM–5 AM70.5%

By departure hour

12 AM

3 AM

6 AM

9 AM

12 PM

3 PM

6 PM

9 PM

Why SEA → ANC runs late

July 2023 – July 2026

The airline46.2%

crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control

Late-arriving aircraft28.5%

the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late

Air traffic control22.5%

airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control

Weather2.5%

weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically

Security0.3%

screening or terminal security incidents

Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for SEA → ANC. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.

How this route holds up in bad weather

July 2023 – July 2026

Bad weather raises cancellations by a similar amount at both ends of SEA to ANC: 1.9 times the normal rate at SEA and 1.9 times at ANC. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: SEA 1.5% against 0.8%, ANC 1.9% against 1.0%. Flights that did leave ANC in bad weather arrived on time 72.9% of the time, against 85.1% in normal hours.

Bad weather and normal hours at the airports

Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026

Departures from SEA and ANC in hours of bad weather and in normal hours
Departures from	SEA	ANC
Cancelled in bad weather	1.5%	1.9%
Cancelled in normal hours	0.8%	1.0%
Arrived on time, bad weather	75.4%	72.9%
Arrived on time, normal hours	79.3%	85.1%
Departures in bad weather	43,416	6,631

Of the carriers on this route, Delta Air Lines (1.1% cancelled against 1.6% for the other carriers at SEA) cancelled the fewest departures from SEA in bad weather and Alaska Airlines (1.8% cancelled against 1.2% for the other carriers at SEA) the most.

This route’s airlines in bad weather at SEA

All departures from SEA

Cancellation rates in bad weather at SEA for the airlines that fly SEA to ANC, against the other carriers at SEA in the same months
Airline	Bad-weather departures	Cancelled	Other carriers
Delta Air Lines	9,020	1.1%below the others	1.6%
Alaska Airlines	20,261	1.8%above the others	1.2%

These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from SEA and ANC, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from SEA on every route.

Weather source and limits. In full: SEA (airlines), ANC, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.

Airlines on this route

Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.

Airlines on this route
Carrier	Flights	On time	Cancelled	Median delay	Severe
Alaska Airlines	17,131	74.1%	0.88%	0 min	4.5%
Delta Air Lines	5,071	81.9%	0.26%	-7 min	4.6%

Alaska Airlines flew 77.2% of the 22,202 flights listed.

Delta Air Lines arrived on time 7.8 percentage points more often than Alaska Airlines on this route.

Flights on this route

Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.

Flights on this route
Flight	Scheduled	Operations	On time
AS83 Alaska Airlines	9:00 AM	1,008	73.2%
DL922 Delta Air Lines	10:25 AM	785	85.6%
DL928 Delta Air Lines	1:30 PM	783	80.4%
AS85 Alaska Airlines	7:00 AM	783	87.3%
DL936 Delta Air Lines	9:20 PM	684	75.9%
AS99 Alaska Airlines	3:58 PM	628	76.3%
DL931 Delta Air Lines	5:40 PM	605	75.7%
AS93 Alaska Airlines	11:00 AM	605	62.9%

AS85 (7:00 AM) arrived on time 87.3% of the time, 24.4 points more often than AS93 (11:00 AM) at 62.9%.

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

Mon73.9%

Tue77.9%

Wed78.0%

Thu73.1%

Fri73.9%

Sat77.6%

Sun76.2%

Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Thursday the least, a gap of 4.9 percentage points.

By month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

January is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 12.3 percentage points.

Reliability over time

July 2023 – July 2026

24

25

26

Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 76.2% against 74.4% in the 12 months before — improving by 1.8 percentage points.

Data and methodology

Calculated by FlyerIntel from 22,363 SEA → ANC flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.

Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem

Analysis last recomputed September 26, 2026

SEA airport ANC airport Return direction ANC → SEA

SEA→ANC

Right now

Route reliability

What stands out

Why SEA → ANC flights are cancelled

Share of cancellations

What each reason means

When it goes wrong

Will your connection be tight enough?

Best time to fly

By day and hour

By departure window

By departure hour

Why SEA → ANC runs late

How this route holds up in bad weather

Bad weather and normal hours at the airports

This route’s airlines in bad weather at SEA

Airlines on this route

Flights on this route

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

By month

Reliability over time

Data and methodology