San Francisco to Seattle (SFO–SEA) — Airlines, Schedules & Connections
No flights match your filters.
No scheduled airline flights on this route — it's flown by charter / private operators (). No nonstop flights on this route. connecting options below.
Most recently operated nonstop flights — the month shown is when each was last scheduled. Most destinations remain reachable with a connection.
No discontinued nonstop flights on record for this route.
SFO–SEA is served by 4 airlines with nonstop service. United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines lead the route. The flight covers 679 miles in approximately 2h 18m. Beyond nonstop, 1-stop connecting options are also available.
Airline Landscape
| Airline | Freq/wk | Aircraft | Duration | Dep OTP | Alliance | Codeshares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UA United Airlines Also: AV, AZ, CM, EK, LX, NH, OZ, VA | 74 | 319, 320, 7M8, 7M9, B38M, E75L, E7W | 1h39-2h31 | Star Alliance | AV, AZ, CM, EK, LX, NH, OZ, VA | |
| AS Alaska Airlines Also: AY, BA, CX, DE, FI, FJ, HA, JL, KE, QF, QR | 62 | 739, 73H, 73J, 7M9, B39M | 1h50-2h17 | Oneworld | AY, BA, CX, DE, FI, FJ, HA, JL, KE, QF, QR | |
| DL Delta Air Lines Also: AF, AM, KE, SK, VS, WS | 35 | BCS3, E75L | 1h56-2h56 | SkyTeam | AF, AM, KE, SK, VS, WS | |
| AC Air Canada | 1 | – | – | Star Alliance | – |
Weekly Schedule Pattern
Connection Landscape
On-Time Performance
Other ways to reach Seattle from San Francisco
| Metric | SFO→SEA | OAK→SEA | SJC→SEA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance from SFO | – | 11 mi | 30 mi |
| Nonstop airlines | 4 | 11 | 19 |
| Weekly flights | 542 | 118 | 229 |
| Flight time | 2h 18m | 1h 58m | 1h 54m |
| Departure OTP | 62% | – | – |
Travel Essentials
SFO: PDT · SEA: PDT
When it's 6:00 PM in San Francisco, it's 6:00 PM in Seattle.
BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) runs from downtown San Francisco (Embarcadero, Powell St.) to the SFO station and then a free AirTrain shuttle to all terminals (30–40 min from Embarcadero, $10.45). BART also connects Oakland and Berkeley; useful for East Bay travelers. Trains run from ~4am to midnight.Taxis from downtown San Francisco cost $40–60. Ride-hails (Uber, Lyft) pick up in the designated area in the garage and are often $30–50 depending on surge pricing. SamTrans buses serve Peninsula cities. Highway 101 and I-280 are heavily congested during commute hours; BART is faster than driving at those times.
Link Light Rail from the airport station (inside the terminal) to downtown Seattle takes 38 minutes ($3.50). No transfers needed; trains run 5am to 1am daily.Taxis and ride-shares to downtown cost $35–55. For Bellevue and Eastside destinations (across Lake Washington), ride-share is faster than Link. Car rentals are in the consolidated rental facility; take the free shuttle from baggage claim. Sound Transit buses serve Tacoma, Renton, and Federal Way.
Marine west coast climate. Winters are mild but persistently grey and rainy (3–9°C). Snow is rare at sea level but can occur December through February, causing significant disruptions when it does. The airport sits between Seattle and Tacoma in an area that receives more fog and low cloud than downtown Seattle.
Summers are famously pleasant (18–25°C) with low humidity and mostly clear skies, one of the best flying climates in the US from June through September. The wettest months are November through January.
SFO–SEA Quick Facts
Frequently Asked Questions
San Francisco to Seattle: The Dominant West Coast Tech Corridor
SFO–SEA connects two of the largest technology industry hubs in North America, with San Francisco and Seattle each home to major concentrations of software, hardware, and cloud computing employers. Alaska Airlines leads seat capacity given its Seattle hub, with United, Delta, Southwest, and American each adding multiple daily departures. Block time is 2 hours 15 minutes northbound. The route carries significant business demand driven by Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Salesforce, Google, Apple, and their supplier ecosystems, alongside strong leisure traffic between two cities with extensive hiking, skiing, and urban cultural offerings.
Frequency, Competition, and the Seattle Hub Dynamic
Alaska's SEA hub structures its banking around this corridor, with waves of SFO departures timed to connect into Alaska's broader network. United and Delta use SFO and SEA respectively as hubs, giving both carriers strong competitive positions. The result is one of the most frequently served 2-hour domestic routes in the US. Passengers not committed to a specific airline typically find competitive fares, and same-day standby or rebooking options are plentiful when delays occur. SEA recently completed a North Satellite expansion and a new international facility, improving connection times for passengers using SFO–SEA as a domestic leg before an international departure out of Seattle.