Sun, Oct 4 has passed, so this is the 12-month record.

Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

Connect in the morning. The same one-hour layover misses 8% of the time at 8 am and 42% of the time at 3 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Alaska	DCA	SAN	5h 40m	72%	1.6%	364	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach San Diego on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (San Diego is 3 h behind Washington). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Delta Details →	DCA 06:59 → ATL 08:51DL 330	3h 02m Atlanta	ATL 11:53 → SAN 13:21DL 540	9h 22m	99%	83%
United Details →	DCA 06:00 → IAH 08:13UA 1450	1h 17m Houston	IAH 09:30 → SAN 10:51UA 2491	7h 51m	97%	82%
Delta Details →	DCA 17:50 → SLC 20:37DL 820	2h 18m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:55 → SAN 23:50DL 1202	9h 03m	97%	79%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → MSP 07:39DL 1193	3h 59m Minneapolis	MSP 11:38 → SAN 13:29DL 2125	10h 29m	99%	79%
United Details →	DCA 08:25 → ORD 09:43UA 1061	3h 17m Chicago	ORD 13:00 → SAN 15:25UA 2683	10h 00m	100%	79%
Delta Details →	DCA 10:16 → ATL 12:08DL 926	3h 28m Atlanta	ATL 15:36 → SAN 17:00DL 843	9h 45m	100%	78%
United Details →	DCA 08:20 → IAH 10:41UA 697	1h 19m Houston	IAH 12:00 → SAN 13:21UA 2399	8h 01m	94%	77%
Delta Details →	DCA 16:45 → LAX 19:20DL 392	3h 20m Los Angeles	LAX 22:40 → SAN 23:40DL 3746 · flown by SkyWest	9h 55m	94%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DCA 15:00 → MSP 16:48DL 2863	2h 02m Minneapolis	MSP 18:50 → SAN 20:36DL 2145	8h 40m	74%	52%
Delta Details →	DCA 18:25 → ATL 20:30DL 850	58m Atlanta	ATL 21:28 → SAN 23:00DL 896	7h 35m	66%	48%
United Details →	DCA 14:00 → ORD 15:18UA 1888	47m Chicago	ORD 16:05 → SAN 18:32UA 745	7h 32m	58%	38%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

IAH · 1h 17m · leaves 06:00 3%

ATL · 1h 17m · leaves 06:59 5%

DTW · 1h 10m · leaves 06:00 5%

Afternoon and evening

PHX · 50m · leaves 17:30 34%

ORD · 47m · leaves 14:00 42%

DAL · 1h 20m · leaves 17:20 46%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


Southwest WN 4969 DCA 06:55 → ATL Delta DL 540 ATL 11:53 → SAN Connection details →	3h 03m	9h 26m	100%	85%
American AA 4360 DCA 08:25 → ORD United UA 2683 ORD 13:00 → SAN Connection details →	3h 00m	10h 00m	100%	81%
American AA 1966 DCA 08:40 → LAX Delta DL 4001 LAX 14:11 → SAN Connection details →	2h 52m	9h 31m	99%	80%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON