Seattle (SEA) – San Francisco (SFO)
- Distance
- 1,092 km
- 678 mi · 590 nm
- Flight time
- 2 h 17 min / 2 h 12 min
- Average gate to gate: SEA → SFO / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 137 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (81 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 1,628,228
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +1.8%
- Flights / week
- 259
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 83%
- 1,972,925 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 5
- AS, UA, DL
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 SEA
- 180°
- Heading from SFO
- 0°
- Halfway point
- 42.54, -122.35
- Great-circle km
- 1,093 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air SEA → SFO
- 1 h 44 min
- In the air SFO → SEA
- 1 h 38 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 2 h 5 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 162,047 |
| Sep 2025 | 142,001 |
| Oct 2025 | 135,888 |
| Nov 2025 | 129,672 |
| Dec 2025 | 130,770 |
| Jan 2026 | 110,944 |
| Feb 2026 | 112,347 |
| Mar 2026 | 122,433 |
| Apr 2026 | 121,559 |
| May 2026 | 138,245 |
| Jun 2026 | 155,024 |
| Jul 2026 | 167,298 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 1,229 |
| Sep 2025 | 1,162 |
| Oct 2025 | 1,158 |
| Nov 2025 | 1,118 |
| Dec 2025 | 1,115 |
| Jan 2026 | 959 |
| Feb 2026 | 957 |
| Mar 2026 | 1,029 |
| Apr 2026 | 991 |
| May 2026 | 1,172 |
| Jun 2026 | 1,257 |
| Jul 2026 | 1,326 |
Airlines flying SEA–SFO nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| ASAlaska Airlines | 103 | 48% |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 78 | 32% |
| DLDelta Air Lines | 36 | 12% |
| OOSkyWest Airlines | 41 | 8% |
| QXHorizon Air | 0.3 | 0% |
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
- Boeing 737-900ER · 2,364 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 2,196 flights
- Embraer ERJ-175 · 2,142 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 2,127 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 1,573 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 847 flights
- A220-300 BD-500-1A11 · 785 flights
- Airbus Industrie A319 · 631 flights
Also carried: 1,198 tonnes of freight and 98 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 67.6%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 20 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.1%
- Flights counted
- 13,588
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| ASAlaska Airlines | 63.8% | 21 min |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 68.9% | 21 min |
| OOSkyWest Airlines | 71.1% | 16 min |
| DLDelta Air Lines | 72.1% | 19 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 24% · aircraft arriving late 30% · air traffic system 42% · weather 4% · 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
- $230
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $205
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Alaska Airlines
- 51% of passengers · $219
- Lowest-fare airline
- Alaska Airlines
- 51% of passengers · $219
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $197 · Q3 2025 $195 · Q4 2025 $202 · Q1 2026 $230).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $235, likely $208–$267
The average fare paid we expect a year after Q1 2026, the newest DOT quarter. On this route, past forecasts made this way fell inside the range 95% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 5.3%). An estimate from US DOT data: not a price you can book, not a guarantee, not advice on when to buy. How the outlook works
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: 1,093 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.
Every airport pair between Seattle and San Francisco
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Seattle airports
More routes from SEA
| Route | Distance | Passengers / year |
|---|---|---|
| SEA → DEN | 1,648 km | 1,819,437 |
| SEA → PHX | 1,781 km | 1,813,338 |
| SEA → LAX | 1,535 km | 1,810,795 |
| SEA → ANC | 2,331 km | 1,694,688 |
| SEA → ORD | 2,769 km | 1,622,991 |
| SEA → LAS | 1,394 km | 1,596,435 |
| SEA → DFW | 2,671 km | 1,577,921 |
| SEA → SAN | 1,690 km | 1,233,726 |
| SEA → SLC | 1,108 km | 1,106,553 |
| SEA → ATL | 3,511 km | 1,090,727 |