San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO)
Flight time
≈ 1h 42m
Bearing
321° NW
San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) is 447 miles (719 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies SAN–SFO
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, United Airlines operated the most departures, one of 7 carriers flying nonstop SAN–SFO; the Embraer E175 was the most common aircraft at 27% of departures; flights ran 78% full.
Departures
1,147
April 2026
Seats
164,582
both directions
Passengers
129,179
both directions
Load factor
78.5%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies SAN–SFO?
United Airlines operated the most nonstop SAN–SFO departures in April 2026 (477), one of 7 carriers on the route.
- UA
United Airlines
477 departures · 82,729 seats
Share of departures41.6%78.1%
Load
- WN
Southwest Airlines
283 departures · 44,623 seats
Share of departures24.7%78.6%
Load
- OO
SkyWest Airlines
187 departures · 14,212 seats
Share of departures16.3%86.5%
Load
- QX
Horizon Air
122 departures · 9,272 seats
Share of departures10.6%88.5%
Load
- AS
Alaska Airlines
60 departures · 10,385 seats
Share of departures5.2%59.0%
Load
- F9
Frontier Airlines
17 departures · 3,162 seats
Share of departures1.5%89.1%
Load
- DL
Delta Air Lines
1 departures · 199 seats
Share of departures0.1%35.2%
Load
What plane flies SAN–SFO?
In April 2026, the Embraer E175 flew 27% of SAN–SFO departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Embraer E175
309 departures · 87.3% load
26.9% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
238 departures · 76.0% load
20.8% - Boeing 737-800
212 departures · 79.4% load
18.5% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
153 departures · 72.5% load
13.3% - Boeing 737-700
129 departures · 79.4% load
11.3% - Boeing 737-900ER
80 departures · 77.6% load
7.0% - Airbus A320neo
15 departures · 89.3% load
1.3% - Airbus A320
7 departures · 80.2% load
0.6% - Airbus A321neo
3 departures · 71.5% load
0.3% - Boeing 757-200
1 departures · 35.2% load
0.1%
How has SAN–SFO traffic changed?
Nonstop SAN–SFO departures fell from 1,218 in May 2025 to 1,147 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop SAN–SFO traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
1,218 departures · 149,417 passengers
89.2%
Load
June 2025
1,154 departures · 148,307 passengers
92.0%
Load
July 2025
1,159 departures · 150,849 passengers
93.0%
Load
August 2025
1,186 departures · 144,350 passengers
86.8%
Load
September 2025
1,144 departures · 133,657 passengers
84.3%
Load
October 2025
1,315 departures · 157,003 passengers
82.7%
Load
November 2025
1,173 departures · 138,793 passengers
82.8%
Load
December 2025
1,156 departures · 135,580 passengers
84.7%
Load
January 2026
1,142 departures · 114,966 passengers
72.2%
Load
February 2026
1,029 departures · 110,258 passengers
78.8%
Load
March 2026
1,119 departures · 129,355 passengers
83.9%
Load
April 2026
1,147 departures · 129,179 passengers
78.5%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
SAN → SFO
78.3% full
575 departures · 65,032 passengers
SFO → SAN
78.7% full
572 departures · 64,147 passengers
Nonstop SAN–SFO 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 San Diego (SAN) from San Francisco (SFO)?
SAN to SFO is 447 miles (719 km / 388 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from SAN to SFO?
A nonstop covers the 447-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 42m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies SAN–SFO?
In April 2026, the Embraer E175 flew the largest share of departures (26.9%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 9 (20.8%).
What mileage do I earn flying SAN–SFO?
Distance-based programs credit off the 447-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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