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 1 time in 10 at 11 am and barely half the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	SMF	EWR	5h 12m	79%	2.1%	283	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	SMF 18:37 → DEN 21:59UA 1841	2h 00m Denver	DEN 23:59 → EWR 05:40 +1UA 1745	8h 03m	94%	84%
Delta Details →	SMF 17:00 → SLC 19:43DL 1342	3h 55m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:38 → EWR 06:00 +1DL 2038	9h 55m	99%	83%
United Details →	SMF 05:00 → DEN 08:22UA 1889	1h 40m Denver	DEN 10:02 → EWR 16:00UA 1423	8h 00m	99%	83%
Delta Details →	SMF 22:00 → ATL 05:32DL 878	2h 40m Atlanta	ATL 08:12 → EWR 10:29 +1DL 2397	9h 29m	100%	82%
United Details →	SMF 23:43 → ORD 05:54UA 1148	1h 16m Chicago	ORD 07:10 → EWR 10:30 +1UA 563	7h 47m	94%	82%
American Details →	SMF 16:13 → PHX 18:16AA 6354 · flown by SkyWest	3h 58m Phoenix	PHX 22:14 → EWR 06:00 +1AA 2156	10h 47m	100%	81%
Alaska Details →	SMF 17:08 → SEA 19:07AS 683	3h 33m Seattle	SEA 22:40 → EWR 06:59 +1AS 314	10h 51m	97%	81%
American Details →	SMF 22:03 → CLT 06:08AA 2464	1h 52m Charlotte	CLT 08:00 → EWR 09:59 +1AA 1782	8h 56m	96%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SMF 19:03 → SFO 20:10UA 5961 · flown by SkyWest	1h 05m San Francisco	SFO 21:15 → EWR 05:51 +1UA 698	7h 48m	49%	39%
United Details →	SMF 14:17 → ORD 20:33UA 2766	57m Chicago	ORD 21:30 → EWR 00:53 +1UA 1209	7h 36m	54%	35%
United Details →	SMF 11:46 → SFO 12:53UA 5248 · flown by SkyWest	52m San Francisco	SFO 13:45 → EWR 22:26UA 366	7h 40m	47%	25%

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

ORD · 1h 08m · leaves 23:10 5%

IAH · 59m · leaves 05:15 7%

DFW · 1h 00m · leaves 05:18 10%

Afternoon and evening

SFO · 1h 05m · leaves 19:03 51%

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 3799 SMF 22:10 → MCO United UA 1227 MCO 09:10 → EWR Connection details →	2h 55m	10h 43m	100%	89%
Southwest WN 2178 SMF 06:15 → LAS United UA 1784 LAS 09:56 → EWR Connection details →	2h 16m	8h 45m	100%	87%
Southwest WN 3833 SMF 16:05 → SNA United UA 2186 SNA 21:15 → EWR Connection details →	3h 40m	10h 28m	100%	87%

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