Houston (IAH) to San Diego (SAN)
Flight time
≈ 3h 24m
Bearing
284° W
Houston (IAH) to San Diego (SAN) is 1,301 miles (2,093 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 IAH–SAN
Filed traffic dataIn July 2026, United Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop IAH–SAN; the Boeing 737 MAX 9 was the most common aircraft at 32% of departures; flights ran 86% full.
Departures
285
July 2026
Seats
49,611
both directions
Passengers
42,528
both directions
Load factor
85.7%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies IAH–SAN?
United Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop IAH–SAN in July 2026 (285 departures).
- UA
285 departures · 49,611 seats
Share of departures100.0%85.7%
Load
What plane flies IAH–SAN?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 flew 32% of IAH–SAN departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 9
92 departures · 86.8% load
32.3% - Boeing 737-800
77 departures · 76.2% load
27.0% - Boeing 737-900
49 departures · 90.3% load
17.2% - Boeing 737-900ER
36 departures · 90.8% load
12.6% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
31 departures · 91.6% load
10.9%
How has IAH–SAN traffic changed?
Nonstop IAH–SAN departures rose from 279 in August 2025 to 285 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop IAH–SAN traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
August 2025
279 departures · 38,568 passengers
78.8%
Load
September 2025
273 departures · 38,013 passengers
79.3%
Load
October 2025
293 departures · 40,899 passengers
79.4%
Load
November 2025
284 departures · 39,414 passengers
79.4%
Load
December 2025
290 departures · 41,485 passengers
81.0%
Load
January 2026
255 departures · 35,498 passengers
79.2%
Load
February 2026
253 departures · 37,282 passengers
84.0%
Load
March 2026
299 departures · 42,728 passengers
81.3%
Load
April 2026
283 departures · 41,174 passengers
81.8%
Load
May 2026
298 departures · 39,468 passengers
75.8%
Load
June 2026
284 departures · 41,321 passengers
83.6%
Load
July 2026
285 departures · 42,528 passengers
85.7%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
SAN → IAH
82.3% full
143 departures · 20,247 passengers
IAH → SAN
89.1% full
142 departures · 22,281 passengers
Nonstop IAH–SAN traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through July 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Houston (IAH) from San Diego (SAN)?
IAH to SAN is 1,301 miles (2,093 km / 1,130 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from IAH to SAN?
A nonstop covers the 1,301-mile great-circle distance in roughly 3h 24m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies IAH–SAN?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 flew the largest share of departures (32.3%), followed by the Boeing 737-800 (27.0%).
What mileage do I earn flying IAH–SAN?
Distance-based programs credit off the 1,301-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.
Popular long-haul routes