Houston (IAH) to San Francisco (SFO)
Flight time
≈ 4h 04m
Bearing
296° NW
Houston (IAH) to San Francisco (SFO) is 1,632 miles (2,627 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies IAH–SFO
Filed traffic dataIn May 2026, United Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop IAH–SFO; the Boeing 737 MAX 9 was the most common aircraft at 65% of departures; flights ran 84% full.
Departures
615
May 2026
Seats
123,485
both directions
Passengers
103,877
both directions
Load factor
84.1%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies IAH–SFO?
United Airlines operated the most nonstop IAH–SFO departures in May 2026 (614), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- UA
614 departures · 123,415 seats
Share of departures99.8%84.2%
Load
- OO
1 departures · 70 seats
Share of departures0.2%0.0%
Load
What plane flies IAH–SFO?
In May 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 flew 65% of IAH–SFO departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 9
399 departures · 84.2% load
64.9% - Boeing 737-900ER
111 departures · 85.2% load
18.1% - Boeing 777-200
62 departures · 81.9% load
10.1% - Boeing 757-300
36 departures · 88.1% load
5.9% - Airbus A321neo
4 departures · 89.6% load
0.7% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
1 departures · 44.0% load
0.2% - Embraer E175
1 departures · 0.0% load
0.2% - Boeing 737-900
1 departures · 73.7% load
0.2%
How has IAH–SFO traffic changed?
Nonstop IAH–SFO departures rose from 581 in June 2025 to 615 in May 2026.
Monthly nonstop IAH–SFO traffic, trailing 12 months through May 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
June 2025
581 departures · 102,390 passengers
89.3%
Load
July 2025
594 departures · 104,763 passengers
89.7%
Load
August 2025
596 departures · 97,287 passengers
83.2%
Load
September 2025
580 departures · 88,554 passengers
77.1%
Load
October 2025
610 departures · 99,166 passengers
81.6%
Load
November 2025
600 departures · 102,311 passengers
82.4%
Load
December 2025
622 departures · 113,942 passengers
88.3%
Load
January 2026
607 departures · 101,596 passengers
82.1%
Load
February 2026
557 departures · 91,590 passengers
82.6%
Load
March 2026
615 departures · 107,104 passengers
87.4%
Load
April 2026
599 departures · 102,400 passengers
84.7%
Load
May 2026
615 departures · 103,877 passengers
84.1%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
SFO → IAH
79.0% full
308 departures · 48,807 passengers
IAH → SFO
89.2% full
307 departures · 55,070 passengers
Nonstop IAH–SFO traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through May 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Houston (IAH) from San Francisco (SFO)?
IAH to SFO is 1,632 miles (2,627 km / 1,419 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from IAH to SFO?
A nonstop covers the 1,632-mile great-circle distance in roughly 4h 04m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies IAH–SFO?
In May 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 flew the largest share of departures (64.9%), followed by the Boeing 737-900ER (18.1%).
What mileage do I earn flying IAH–SFO?
Distance-based programs credit off the 1,632-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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