Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) was founded in 1928 by aviators Gordon Sackett and Royce Stetson, who used an airstrip on the current site. Since then, the facility has grown significantly, and last year it processed more than 1,277,000 passengers, with its main routes going to the following locations:
- Denver (DEN) has 134,000 passengers.
- San Francisco (SFO) has 100,000 travelers.
- Phoenix (PHX) has 86,000 passengers.
- Las Vegas (LAS) has 85,000 passengers.
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) has 71,000 travelers.
Five airlines fly to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, with Southwest Airlines having the biggest market share. The market shares of all airlines operating at the airport are mentioned below.
- Southwest Airlines – 29.1%
- United Airlines – 23.3%
- American Airlines holds 20.8%.
- SkyWest Airlines – 16.2%.
- Alaska Airlines – 4.6%.
Which aircraft types will fly to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport in January 2025, according on Cirium’s data?
1.Embraer E175.
310 flights.
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) sees the most common aircraft type, the Embraer E175, with 310 flights operated by three airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines. The aircraft normally seats 76 passengers and was introduced by the Brazilian manufacturer in July 2005 as an expanded version of its popular E170.
American Airlines’ regional affiliate, American Eagle, operates three daily flights from Santa Barbara to its hub at Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
United Express Embraer E175s serve Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), while Alaska Airlines flies the aircraft between Santa Barbara and its hubs at Portland International Airport (PDX) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
2. Airbus A220
186 flights.
In January 2025, the Airbus A220 will make 186 flights to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA). Delta Air Lines uses Airbus A220s for its twice-daily service to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and daily flights to the SkyTeam member’s principal hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
Delta Air Lines operates 74 Airbus A220s, including 45 A220-100s and 29 A220-300s, according to the most recent statistics from ch-aviation.
The carrier has an additional 71 of the bigger A220-300s on order. Both aircraft models have a two-class configuration, with 12 seats in business class and either 97 (A220-100) or 118 (A220-300) seats in economy.
Given the aircraft’s bigger capacity than the Embraer E175, the Airbus A220 outperforms the Embraer E175 in terms of available seat miles (ASMs), an industry-wide measure of capacity for a specific route.
In January 2025, the A220 will have more than 25,513,000 ASMs to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, whereas the E175 will have little more than 10,271,000.
3. Boeing 737-800s
181 flights.
The Boeing 737-800 is the third most common aircraft to fly into Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) in January 2025. Three airlines will offer a total of 181 flights to and from the airport, as stated in the table below:
| Airline | Number of Flights | Destination(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 62 | Seattle (SEA) |
| Southwest Airlines | 46 | Las Vegas (LAS), Oakland (OAK), Sacramento (SMF) |
| United Airlines | 73 | Denver (DEN), San Francisco (SFO) |
United Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 connects Santa Barbara to its two hubs at Denver International Airport (DEN) and San Francisco Airport (SFO), where the Star Alliance carrier holds a 39.1% and 43.8% market share, respectively.
United Airlines’ fleet includes 141 737-800s, each of which can accommodate up to 166 passengers in a two-class configuration – 16 in business class and 150 in economy class. The airline also operates 40 737-700s, 107 737 MAX 8, 148 737-900ERs, and 85 737 MAX 9.
4. Boeing 737 MAX 8.
165 flights
In January 2025, 165 flights to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) will be flown by the Boeing 737 MAX 8. United Airlines and Southwest Airlines will serve Santa Barbara using 737 MAX 8s.
United Airlines, like its Boeing 737-800s, operates the 737 MAX 8 on flights to San Francisco (SFO) and Denver (DEN), while Southwest Airlines operates it on flights to Las Vegas (LAS), Oakland (OAK), and Sacramento (SMF). The table below shows how many flights are scheduled to and from each location in January 2025.
| Airline | Destination | Number of Flights |
|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | San Francisco (SFO) | 80 |
| United Airlines | Denver (DEN) | 31 |
| Southwest Airlines | Las Vegas (LAS) | 5 |
| Southwest Airlines | Oakland (OAK) | 27 |
| Southwest Airlines | Sacramento (SMF) | 22 |
5. Boeing 737-700
148 flights
Just one carrier plans to use its Boeing 737-700s on flights to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) in January 2025 – Southwest Airlines. The low-cost carrier will deploy its 737-700s on a total of 148 services to and from the following destinations:
- Las Vegas (LAS)Â – 119 flights
- Oakland (OAK)Â – 17 flights
- Sacramento (SMF)Â – 12 flights.
Southwest Airlines has a staggering 380 Boeing 737-700s in its fleet, making it the world’s largest operator of the type. Each aircraft can accommodate up to 143 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.
6. Bombardier CRJ700
87 flights
In January 2025, 87 flights will be operated to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) with the Bombardier CRJ700, making it the third-least common aircraft type to be seen at the airport.
American Airlines and United Airlines will operate one route each with the aircraft – Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Both services will be flown by the carriers’ regional subsidiaries, American Eagle and United Express, respectively.
7. Airbus A319
58 flights
One of three Airbus aircraft to feature in this list, the Airbus A319 will operate a total of 58 flights to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) in January 2025.
Both American Airlines and United Airlines will deploy the aircraft on routes to and from their hubs at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), and Denver International Airport (DEN).
The number of services operated in both directions on each route throughout January 2025 is outlined in the table below:
| Airline | Destination | Number of Flights |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 40 |
| American Airlines | Phoenix-Sky Harbor (PHX) | 10 |
| United Airlines | Denver (DEN) | 8 |
8. Airbus A320
57 flights
The aircraft to operate the least number of flights to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) in January 2025 is the Airbus A320, with just 57 flights over the course of the month. American Airlines and United Airlines will both deploy the A320 to and from the following destinations:
American Airlines – Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
United Airlines – San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Denver International Airport (DEN).
The aircraft types flying to and from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport in January 2025 are summarized in the table below, listed by the total number of flights operated throughout the month:
American Airlines, United Airlines
As you can see, by far the most common individual aircraft type to operate at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) is the Embraer E175. However, if all variants of the Boeing 737 (737-800, 737 MAX 8, and 737-700) are grouped together, it gives a total of 494 flights to and from the airport in January 2025.