Route profile
SFO→LAS
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from San Francisco to Las Vegas, 414 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 29% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 18,263 flights. How this is calculated
SFO → LAS arrives on time 73.3% of the time; the return trip, LAS → SFO, arrives on time 66.4% of the time, a 6.9-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
SFO → LAS spends 28.8 minutes on the ground on a 414-mile trip: 19.6 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at SFO and 9.2 minutes from touchdown to gate at LAS.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route holds up about the same all year, a steadier seasonal pattern than 93% of 3,357 comparable routes.
78.2% on time in its best month (January) against 67.7% in its worst (May).
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 3,357 in the comparison.
Why SFO → LAS flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
SFO → LAS cancelled 185 of 18,263 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 99. The reason filed most often was the airline, 67.6% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 146 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 185 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
125 cancellations, 67.6% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
39 cancellations, 21.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
21 cancellations, 11.4% of the total.
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. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
185 coded cancellations were recorded on SFO → LAS; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
58 min late
against a median of 3 min early
SFO → LAS has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 3 min early, but the worst tenth are 61 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 18,263 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at LAS after arriving from SFO.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 44% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 26% | High risk |
| 60 min | 18% | High risk |
| 90 min | 9.5% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.2% | Some 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 1.01% of the time and diverts 0.07% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 18,066 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 58 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 18,263 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
SFO → LAS flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 93.1% of the time, against 65.3% for 3–6 PM departures, a gap of 27.8 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (SFO).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 11.1 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 5.6 points.
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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 after 11 PM (594 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 96.2% on time133 flights | 79 flights, too few to score | 77 flights, too few to score | 93.4% on time136 flights | 95.6% on time136 flights | 101 flights, too few to score | 97.7% on time133 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 90 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score | 95 flights, too few to score | 79 flights, too few to score | 84 flights, too few to score | 95 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 92.0% on time125 flights | 106 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 114 flights, too few to score | 94.2% on time123 flights | 104 flights, too few to score | 91.0% on time134 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 87.9% on time228 flights | 90.3% on time231 flights | 93.5% on time235 flights | 88.7% on time221 flights | 92.8% on time225 flights | 90.5% on time233 flights | 87.1% on time227 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 81 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score | 67 flights, too few to score | 82 flights, too few to score | 80 flights, too few to score | 58 flights, too few to score | 84 flights, too few to score |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 59.7% on time201 flights | 71.4% on time190 flights | 72.8% on time185 flights | 62.7% on time206 flights | 60.7% on time199 flights | 70.3% on time202 flights | 66.1% on time225 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 59.0% on time159 flights | 73.4% on time125 flights | 72.6% on time130 flights | 58.7% on time159 flights | 66.5% on time160 flights | 78.0% on time144 flights | 79.4% on time133 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 108 flights, too few to score | 67.7% on time125 flights | 69.5% on time129 flights | 102 flights, too few to score | 107 flights, too few to score | 79.8% on time124 flights | 112 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 67.0% on time214 flights | 71.6% on time215 flights | 72.9% on time207 flights | 58.4% on time229 flights | 55.0% on time220 flights | 77.6% on time195 flights | 71.1% on time206 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 86 flights, too few to score | 70 flights, too few to score | 79 flights, too few to score | 86 flights, too few to score | 80 flights, too few to score | 80 flights, too few to score | 68 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 119 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 62 flights, too few to score | 50.4% on time125 flights | 52.4% on time128 flights | 64.6% on time144 flights | 64.6% on time131 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 66.4% on time217 flights | 79.5% on time178 flights | 70.1% on time168 flights | 52.5% on time202 flights | 54.7% on time241 flights | 77.4% on time170 flights | 57.7% on time223 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 67.6% on time185 flights | 78.3% on time182 flights | 78.3% on time180 flights | 57.0% on time181 flights | 62.0% on time167 flights | 74.8% on time143 flights | 64.2% on time166 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 110 flights, too few to score | 78 flights, too few to score | 87 flights, too few to score | 113 flights, too few to score | 54.2% on time121 flights | 95 flights, too few to score | 60.2% on time124 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 80.0% on time197 flights | 80.4% on time181 flights | 80.2% on time187 flights | 70.4% on time199 flights | 69.0% on time202 flights | 87.5% on time187 flights | 61.5% on time228 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 69.6% on time127 flights | 91 flights, too few to score | 86 flights, too few to score | 67.8% on time123 flights | 118 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score | 106 flights, too few to score |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 58.6% on time142 flights | 76 flights, too few to score | 79 flights, too few to score | 53.5% on time127 flights | 61.5% on time153 flights | 76 flights, too few to score | 53.7% on time139 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 64.0% on time175 flights | 112 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 55.0% on time183 flights | 64.3% on time173 flights | 82.6% on time123 flights | 61.9% on time191 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 96.5% on time from 795 flights
- 6 AM: 95.9% on time from 612 flights
- 7 AM: 93.6% on time from 802 flights
- 8 AM: 90.1% on time from 1,600 flights
- 9 AM: 74.2% on time from 512 flights
- 10 AM: 66.1% on time from 1,408 flights
- 11 AM: 69.1% on time from 1,010 flights
- 12 PM: 69.2% on time from 807 flights
- 1 PM: 67.3% on time from 1,486 flights
- 2 PM: 59.5% on time from 549 flights
- 3 PM: 61.2% on time from 772 flights
- 4 PM: 64.4% on time from 1,399 flights
- 5 PM: 68.9% on time from 1,204 flights
- 6 PM: 64.7% on time from 728 flights
- 7 PM: 75.1% on time from 1,381 flights
- 8 PM: 70.2% on time from 745 flights
- 9 PM: 63.4% on time from 792 flights
- 10 PM: 68.3% on time from 1,067 flights
- 11 PM: 80.4% on time from 594 flights
Why SFO → LAS runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for SFO → LAS. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on SFO → LAS, at 59.0%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 93.1% of the time and 3–6 PM departures 65.3%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
Bad weather raises cancellations by a similar amount at both ends of SFO to LAS: 1.7 times the normal rate at SFO and 2.4 times at LAS. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: SFO 1.5% against 0.9%, LAS 2.0% against 0.8%. Flights that did leave LAS in bad weather arrived on time 58.5% of the time, against 78.5% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | SFO | LAS |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 1.5% | 2.0% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 73.0% | 58.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 79.8% | 78.5% |
| Departures in bad weather | 36,006 | 14,522 |
Of the carriers on this route, United Airlines (1.0% cancelled against 1.9% for the other carriers at SFO) cancelled the fewest departures from SFO in bad weather and SkyWest Airlines (3.0% cancelled against 1.2% for the other carriers at SFO) the most.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at SFO
All departures from SFO| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 13,903 | 1.0%below the others | 1.9% |
| Southwest Airlines | 2,224 | 1.1%about level | 1.5% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,057 | 1.8%about level | 1.5% |
| Alaska Airlines | 3,124 | 1.8%about level | 1.4% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 7,724 | 3.0%above the others | 1.2% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from SFO and LAS, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from SFO on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: SFO (airlines), LAS, 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.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 7,598 | 80.7% | 0.92% | -6 min | 6.4% |
| Southwest Airlines | 4,060 | 67.2% | 0.59% | 1 min | 11.3% |
| Frontier Airlines | 3,059 | 62.5% | 1.57% | 1 min | 16.4% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,950 | 73.1% | 1.36% | -1 min | 8.8% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 588 | 75.7% | 0.51% | 0 min | 9.2% |
United Airlines flew 41.6% of the 18,255 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 1.57% of its flights here against 0.51% for SkyWest Airlines.
United Airlines arrived on time 18.2 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly San Francisco to Las Vegas
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
SJC → LAS is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 81.1% on time, against 73.3% for SFO → LAS.
Flying to LAS from the San Francisco area? Compare SFO, SJC, OAK for LAS, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
UA1995 (7:10 PM) arrived on time 83.1% of the time, 18.8 points more often than F94158 (5:45 AM) at 64.3%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Thursday the least, a gap of 13.9 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 78.2%
- Feb: 73.7%
- Mar: 71.4%
- Apr: 67.8%
- May: 67.7%
- Jun: 69.6%
- Jul: 69.5%
- Aug: 77.4%
- Sep: 75.5%
- Oct: 75.2%
- Nov: 77.9%
- Dec: 76.4%
May is historically the weakest month and January the strongest, a spread of 10.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 74.2% from 425 flights
- August 2023: 74.8% from 446 flights
- September 2023: 76.7% from 500 flights
- October 2023: 76.3% from 518 flights
- November 2023: 83.9% from 496 flights
- December 2023: 76.8% from 449 flights
- January 2024: 73.9% from 423 flights
- February 2024: 61.1% from 414 flights
- March 2024: 53.2% from 464 flights
- April 2024: 58.4% from 448 flights
- May 2024: 61.5% from 468 flights
- June 2024: 67.9% from 437 flights
- July 2024: 68.0% from 445 flights
- August 2024: 74.5% from 492 flights
- September 2024: 72.2% from 537 flights
- October 2024: 73.6% from 574 flights
- November 2024: 76.0% from 541 flights
- December 2024: 74.7% from 532 flights
- January 2025: 78.6% from 523 flights
- February 2025: 77.5% from 466 flights
- March 2025: 77.6% from 534 flights
- April 2025: 83.9% from 498 flights
- May 2025: 80.2% from 519 flights
- June 2025: 79.8% from 500 flights
- July 2025: 77.0% from 496 flights
- August 2025: 82.1% from 521 flights
- September 2025: 77.8% from 512 flights
- October 2025: 75.9% from 522 flights
- November 2025: 73.9% from 500 flights
- December 2025: 78.0% from 511 flights
- January 2026: 80.8% from 522 flights
- February 2026: 81.1% from 445 flights
- March 2026: 81.8% from 487 flights
- April 2026: 60.3% from 504 flights
- May 2026: 60.8% from 535 flights
- June 2026: 61.1% from 511 flights
- July 2026: 60.4% from 548 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 72.6% against 77.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 4.5 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 18,263 SFO → LAS 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
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed