Carlsbad (CLD) to Santa Barbara (SBA)
Flight time
≈ 1h 09m
Bearing
302° NW
Carlsbad (CLD) to Santa Barbara (SBA) is 172 miles (277 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
Look up a route, or build a trip
Change the airports, or add stops for a multi-leg trip.
What actually flies CLD–SBA
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, ADVANCED AIR was the only carrier flying nonstop CLD–SBA; the Cessna Citationjet was the most common aircraft at 100% of departures; flights ran 29% full.
Departures
1
April 2026
Seats
7
both directions
Passengers
2
both directions
Load factor
28.6%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies CLD–SBA?
ADVANCED AIR was the only carrier to fly nonstop CLD–SBA in April 2026 (1 departures).
- AN
ADVANCED AIR
1 departures · 7 seats
Share of departures100.0%28.6%
Load
What plane flies CLD–SBA?
In April 2026, the Cessna Citationjet flew 100% of CLD–SBA departures.
- Cessna Citationjet
1 departures · 28.6% load
100.0%
How has CLD–SBA traffic changed?
Nonstop CLD–SBA departures held steady at about 1 a month between August 2025 and April 2026.
Monthly nonstop CLD–SBA traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
August 2025
1 departures · 2 passengers
33.3%
Load
September 2025
0 departures · 0 passengers
—
Load
October 2025
0 departures · 0 passengers
—
Load
November 2025
0 departures · 0 passengers
—
Load
December 2025
0 departures · 0 passengers
—
Load
January 2026
0 departures · 0 passengers
—
Load
February 2026
1 departures · 20 passengers
66.7%
Load
March 2026
0 departures · 0 passengers
—
Load
April 2026
1 departures · 2 passengers
28.6%
Load
Nonstop CLD–SBA traffic has been filed with the US DOT since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through April 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work). The DOT publishes roughly three months in arrears.
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Carlsbad (CLD) from Santa Barbara (SBA)?
CLD to SBA is 172 miles (277 km / 150 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from CLD to SBA?
A nonstop covers the 172-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 09m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies CLD–SBA?
In April 2026, the Cessna Citationjet flew the largest share of departures (100.0%).
What mileage do I earn flying CLD–SBA?
Distance-based programs credit off the 172-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Keep exploring
Every route below is its own page.
Other routes from CLD
Popular long-haul routes