San Diego (SAN) – San Francisco (SFO)
- Distance
- 719 km
- 447 mi · 388 nm
- Flight time
- 1 h 41 min / 1 h 40 min
- Average gate to gate: SAN → SFO / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 90 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (53 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 1,602,478
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −2.2%
- Flights / week
- 273
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 80%
- 2,004,574 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 6
- UA, WN, OO
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from SAN
- 320°
- Heading from SFO
- 137°
- Halfway point
- 35.20, -119.70
- Great-circle km
- 719 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air SAN → SFO
- 1 h 8 min
- In the air SFO → SAN
- 1 h 10 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 40 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 144,102 |
| Sep 2025 | 133,657 |
| Oct 2025 | 157,003 |
| Nov 2025 | 138,793 |
| Dec 2025 | 135,580 |
| Jan 2026 | 114,966 |
| Feb 2026 | 110,258 |
| Mar 2026 | 129,291 |
| Apr 2026 | 129,109 |
| May 2026 | 129,144 |
| Jun 2026 | 136,987 |
| Jul 2026 | 143,588 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 1,181 |
| Sep 2025 | 1,144 |
| Oct 2025 | 1,314 |
| Nov 2025 | 1,173 |
| Dec 2025 | 1,156 |
| Jan 2026 | 1,142 |
| Feb 2026 | 1,029 |
| Mar 2026 | 1,118 |
| Apr 2026 | 1,146 |
| May 2026 | 1,196 |
| Jun 2026 | 1,265 |
| Jul 2026 | 1,349 |
Airlines flying SAN–SFO nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 101 | 45% |
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 76 | 30% |
| OOSkyWest Airlines | 56 | 12% |
| QXHorizon Air | 22 | 5% |
| ASAlaska Airlines | 12 | 4% |
| F9Frontier Airlines | 7.5 | 4% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- Embraer ERJ-175 · 4,029 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 3,323 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 2,046 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,962 flights
- Boeing 737-900ER · 1,227 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 1,183 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-200n · 184 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 152 flights
Also carried: 274 tonnes of freight and 69 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 63.7%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 23 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.3%
- Flights counted
- 13,281
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 71.9% | 17 min |
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 52.9% | 30 min |
| OOSkyWest Airlines | 64.4% | 23 min |
| ASAlaska Airlines | 69.3% | 17 min |
| F9Frontier Airlines | 47.6% | 43 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 17% · aircraft arriving late 41% · air traffic system 40% · weather 2% · security 0%.
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources
What passengers paid
- Average fare, Q1 2026
- $186
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $158
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- United Air Lines
- 39% of passengers · $211
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 37% of passengers · $160
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $142 · Q3 2025 $147 · Q4 2025 $162 · Q1 2026 $186).
U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 719 km.
Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.