Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO)
Flight time
≈ 1h 29m
Bearing
320° NW
Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) is 338 miles (543 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies LAX–SFO
Filed traffic dataIn July 2026, United Airlines operated the most departures, one of 7 carriers flying nonstop LAX–SFO; the Boeing 737-800 was the most common aircraft at 32% of departures; flights ran 80% full.
Departures
2,227
July 2026
Seats
337,848
both directions
Passengers
268,750
both directions
Load factor
79.5%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies LAX–SFO?
United Airlines operated the most nonstop LAX–SFO departures in July 2026 (590), one of 7 carriers on the route.
- UA
590 departures · 101,556 seats
Share of departures26.5%80.9%
Load
- OO
443 departures · 33,614 seats
Share of departures19.9%75.8%
Load
- DL
412 departures · 69,890 seats
Share of departures18.5%84.6%
Load
- AS
353 departures · 59,877 seats
Share of departures15.9%75.5%
Load
- WN
327 departures · 51,297 seats
Share of departures14.7%74.3%
Load
- F9
60 departures · 14,390 seats
Share of departures2.7%92.4%
Load
- AA
42 departures · 7,224 seats
Share of departures1.9%72.6%
Load
What plane flies LAX–SFO?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737-800 flew 32% of LAX–SFO departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-800
712 departures · 80.3% load
32.0% - Embraer E175
443 departures · 75.8% load
19.9% - Boeing 737-900ER
361 departures · 79.8% load
16.2% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
237 departures · 82.0% load
10.6% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
190 departures · 73.1% load
8.5% - Boeing 737-700
156 departures · 76.4% load
7.0% - Airbus A321neo
108 departures · 87.8% load
4.9% - Airbus A319
10 departures · 88.5% load
0.4% - Airbus A320
6 departures · 70.3% load
0.3% - Boeing 767-300
2 departures · 70.6% load
0.1% - Airbus A321
1 departures · 92.2% load
0.0% - Boeing 757-200
1 departures · 0.0% load
0.0%
How has LAX–SFO traffic changed?
Nonstop LAX–SFO departures rose from 2,006 in August 2025 to 2,227 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop LAX–SFO traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
August 2025
2,006 departures · 240,124 passengers
87.0%
Load
September 2025
1,938 departures · 229,536 passengers
84.8%
Load
October 2025
2,123 departures · 246,569 passengers
85.4%
Load
November 2025
1,918 departures · 222,466 passengers
82.6%
Load
December 2025
1,960 departures · 227,389 passengers
83.9%
Load
January 2026
1,744 departures · 202,061 passengers
83.1%
Load
February 2026
1,729 departures · 202,927 passengers
88.6%
Load
March 2026
2,017 departures · 240,275 passengers
87.0%
Load
April 2026
1,990 departures · 237,690 passengers
79.4%
Load
May 2026
2,062 departures · 258,265 passengers
81.5%
Load
June 2026
2,165 departures · 269,336 passengers
81.8%
Load
July 2026
2,227 departures · 268,750 passengers
79.5%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
LAX → SFO
80.6% full
1,115 departures · 136,030 passengers
SFO → LAX
78.5% full
1,112 departures · 132,720 passengers
Nonstop LAX–SFO 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 Los Angeles (LAX) from San Francisco (SFO)?
LAX to SFO is 338 miles (543 km / 293 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from LAX to SFO?
A nonstop covers the 338-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 29m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies LAX–SFO?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737-800 flew the largest share of departures (32.0%), followed by the Embraer E175 (19.9%).
What mileage do I earn flying LAX–SFO?
Distance-based programs credit off the 338-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Trip reports on YouTube
Fliers post trip reports from this route to YouTube. These three were matched automatically from public YouTube listings — The Frequent Flier does not host, review, or endorse them.
Simply Aviation
TRIPREPORT | Alaska Airlines (ECONOMY) | Embraer 175 | San Francisco - Los Angeles
13:42 · Feb 2022
OnBoardHD
TRIP REPORT | The Biggest Low-Cost in the World | San Francisco to Los Angeles | Southwest B737
21:05 · Jun 2022
QFS Aviation
American Eagle - CRJ 700 - First Class - Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) | TRIP REPORT
11:40 · Mar 2021
Source: YouTube. Titles, thumbnails, and channel names come from YouTube. Playing a video loads the YouTube player, and using it means you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service; the Google Privacy Policy applies.
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