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 90-minute layover misses 3% of the time at 9 am and 16% of the time at 5 pm.

Nonstops


Delta	ATL	SMF	4h 54m	83%	1.2%	1,010	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	ATL 06:10 → LAS 07:15WN 209	1h 20m Las Vegas	LAS 08:35 → SMF 10:05WN 860	6h 55m	100%	94%
United Details →	ATL 07:05 → IAH 08:15UA 532	1h 45m Houston	IAH 10:00 → SMF 12:07UA 2773	8h 02m	96%	90%
Delta Details →	ATL 07:25 → MSP 09:00DL 2668	1h 23m Minneapolis	MSP 10:23 → SMF 12:11DL 1701	7h 46m	97%	90%
Delta Details →	ATL 14:32 → SEA 16:49DL 481	3h 36m Seattle	SEA 20:25 → SMF 22:28DL 4131 · flown by SkyWest	10h 56m	99%	90%
Delta Details →	ATL 11:30 → LAX 13:05DL 326	3h 38m Los Angeles	LAX 16:43 → SMF 18:15DL 3712 · flown by SkyWest	9h 45m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	ATL 07:15 → LAX 08:55DL 996	3h 10m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	9h 18m	99%	88%
Delta Details →	ATL 17:55 → SLC 19:58DL 653	3h 06m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	8h 53m	98%	87%
Delta Details →	ATL 11:10 → SEA 13:38DL 648	3h 22m Seattle	SEA 17:00 → SMF 19:01DL 4043 · flown by SkyWest	10h 51m	98%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	ATL 18:13 → PHX 19:25AA 3012	1h 23m Phoenix	PHX 20:48 → SMF 22:42AA 2048	7h 29m	65%	44%
Southwest Details →	ATL 18:20 → DEN 19:40WN 3002	1h 55m Denver	DEN 21:35 → SMF 23:05WN 1744	7h 45m	74%	24%
American Details →	ATL 20:01 → DFW 21:32AA 1379	58m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → SMF 23:59AA 509	6h 58m	35%	13%

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

SLC · 1h 20m · leaves 08:15 7%

LAX · 1h 12m · leaves 09:15 9%

DFW · 57m · leaves 06:01 10%

Afternoon and evening

MDW · 1h 20m · leaves 19:35 50%

LAS · 1h 10m · leaves 20:10 53%

DFW · 58m · leaves 20:01 65%

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.


Delta DL 326 ATL 11:30 → LAX United UA 5858 LAX 16:30 → SMF Connection details →	3h 25m	9h 36m	100%	92%
Delta DL 895 ATL 12:35 → LAX American AA 6346 LAX 17:18 → SMF Connection details →	3h 03m	9h 16m	98%	87%
Delta DL 996 ATL 07:15 → LAX Southwest WN 265 LAX 12:15 → SMF Connection details →	3h 20m	9h 20m	98%	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