Santa Barbara (SBA) to Sacramento (SMF)
Flight time
≈ 1h 25m
Bearing
342° N
Santa Barbara (SBA) to Sacramento (SMF) is 311 miles (500 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies SBA–SMF
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop SBA–SMF; the Boeing 737-700 was the most common aircraft at 98% of departures; flights ran 66% full.
Departures
60
April 2026
Seats
8,258
both directions
Passengers
5,413
both directions
Load factor
65.5%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies SBA–SMF?
Southwest Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop SBA–SMF in April 2026 (60 departures).
- WN
Southwest Airlines
60 departures · 8,258 seats
Share of departures100.0%65.5%
Load
What plane flies SBA–SMF?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew 98% of SBA–SMF departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-700
59 departures · 66.1% load
98.3% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
1 departures · 38.3% load
1.7%
How has SBA–SMF traffic changed?
Nonstop SBA–SMF departures fell from 62 in May 2025 to 60 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop SBA–SMF traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
62 departures · 6,059 passengers
63.1%
Load
June 2025
60 departures · 6,050 passengers
63.4%
Load
July 2025
59 departures · 5,920 passengers
61.9%
Load
August 2025
62 departures · 6,128 passengers
64.5%
Load
September 2025
60 departures · 5,911 passengers
63.7%
Load
October 2025
62 departures · 6,360 passengers
64.5%
Load
November 2025
62 departures · 5,793 passengers
64.6%
Load
December 2025
58 departures · 4,879 passengers
58.6%
Load
January 2026
61 departures · 3,914 passengers
41.4%
Load
February 2026
56 departures · 4,449 passengers
53.2%
Load
March 2026
60 departures · 4,967 passengers
59.9%
Load
April 2026
60 departures · 5,413 passengers
65.5%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
SBA → SMF
69.7% full
30 departures · 2,892 passengers
SMF → SBA
61.3% full
30 departures · 2,521 passengers
Nonstop SBA–SMF 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 Santa Barbara (SBA) from Sacramento (SMF)?
SBA to SMF is 311 miles (500 km / 270 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from SBA to SMF?
A nonstop covers the 311-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 25m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies SBA–SMF?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew the largest share of departures (98.3%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (1.7%).
What mileage do I earn flying SBA–SMF?
Distance-based programs credit off the 311-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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