WN3981Southwest Airlines · SMF → SNA
updated 1h ago
Route confirmed Southwest Airlines

WN3981 SacramentoSMF · 15:50 Santa AnaSNA · 17:25

WN3981 by Southwest Airlines flies from Sacramento (SMF) to Santa Ana (SNA).

Right nowNext departure tomorrow Operates daily
15:50

scheduled from SMF

Typical gate push+7 minmedian posted departure
Typical arrival−16 minmedian over 6 operations
Wins back in air~23 minmedian gate push vs arrival · how planes make up time →

Where the minutes go

last 6 operations · gate push → arrival
0+30+60+90 min
11-05
+6 gate · −15 arrival
10-30
−2 gate · −29 arrival
10-29
+6 gate · −15 arrival
10-26
+7 gate · −25 arrival
10-25
+64 gate · +45 arrival
10-23
+13 gate · −17 arrival

The bar is how late it left the gate; the ring is where it actually arrived. Board clocks, not estimates.

The last 30 days

arrival outcome per operation

median arrival −16 min · 0 cancelled · 6 operations tracked

The route today

live boards
SMFSacramentoOn-time likelySMF delay board →
SNASanta AnaOn-time likelySNA delay board →
SMF→SNAevery carrier, schedules and on-time historyRoute intelligence →

Weather lens

Delay & cancellation outlook for this flight

Measured, 90-day sample
40%Chance of 15+ min delay
0.3%Chance of cancellation
+9 minTypical airport delay in this weather

Conditions at SMF and SNA are near their clear-air norm right now, so this reflects the route's recent baseline rather than a weather penalty. These figures come from both airports' records under conditions like today's, over the last 90 days.

Pro Flight Search tracking, 90 days · the weather × delay correlation study → · live weather risk by airport →

Tomorrow at Sacramento

Forecast

Fri 6 Nov, local date

High21°Clikely 20°C to 22°C
Low5°Clikely 4°C to 6°C

Forecast: GateWeather · incl. data from ECMWF (CC BY 4.0, modified) · Expected values for tomorrow from a forecast model, kept apart from today's measured figures.

Tomorrow at Santa Ana

Forecast

Fri 6 Nov, local date

High27°Clikely 26°C to 29°C
Low15°Clikely 14°C to 16°C

Forecast: GateWeather · incl. data from ECMWF (CC BY 4.0, modified) · Expected values for tomorrow from a forecast model, kept apart from today's measured figures.

When it flies

scheduled departures
061422
M
T
W
T
F
S
S

Each mark is a scheduled departure at its origin-local time. Today is highlighted.

Other Sacramento to Santa Ana flights today

same route · Southwest Airlines
WN1271departs 06:10
WN3563departs 06:15
WN3749departs 07:20
WN2383departs 07:25
WN2588departs 08:30
WN2642departs 08:45

If WN3981 is cancelled, these are the other Southwest Airlines nonstop flights from Sacramento to Santa Ana on the same day, with scheduled departure times in SMF local time. Most flights that show a delay still operate. Rebooking usually helps only when that delay is very large. Every airline on this route →

How WN3981 actually runs

Pro Flight Search has tracked every published board update for WN3981 across the SMF and SNA boards: schedule changes, gate pushes and actual clocks. Usually lands ~7 min early. Based on 6 confirmed landings · 5/6 within 15 min of schedule. Pushes back late but makes up time in the air.

The verdict above is that record speaking, so it reflects how WN3981 operates rather than what the timetable promises. Numbers refresh as new flights operate.

Technical record

How this operation is measured

board clocksaircraft

Board log

scheduled → actual, per operation
11-05SMF 15:50 15:56 (+6)SNA 17:25 17:10 (−15)
10-30SMF 15:50 15:48 (−2)SNA 17:25 16:56 (−29)
10-29SMF 15:50 15:56 (+6)SNA 17:25 17:10 (−15)
10-26SMF 15:50 15:57 (+7)SNA 17:25 17:00 (−25)
10-25SMF 15:45 16:49 (+64)SNA 17:15 18:00 (+45)
10-23SMF 15:50 16:03 (+13)SNA 17:25 17:08 (−17)

Aircraft

Recent tails: N216WR, N478WN, N444WN, N294WN.

Board clocks recorded as SMF and SNA published them.

Planning around WN3981? Will a delayed flight be cancelled? · Do planes make up time in the air? · How we measure

Cite this data

Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.

Suggested citation

Pro Flight Search: WN3981 Sacramento to Santa Ana on-time performance, measured from the SMF and SNA airport boards.

Canonical URL
https://proflightsearch.com/flight/WN3981
How we measure this →