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 3% of the time at 7 am and 1 time in 3 at 10 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	AUS	SMF	3h 50m	73%	0.3%	385	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 2 h behind Austin). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	AUS 05:50 → LAS 06:35WN 321	2h 00m Las Vegas	LAS 08:35 → SMF 10:05WN 860	6h 15m	100%	94%
Southwest Details →	AUS 06:45 → SAN 07:35WN 4469	1h 05m San Diego	SAN 08:40 → SMF 10:20WN 4356	5h 35m	100%	92%
United Details →	AUS 05:30 → IAH 06:33UA 1966	3h 27m Houston	IAH 10:00 → SMF 12:07UA 2773	8h 37m	99%	92%
United Details →	AUS 05:39 → DEN 06:58UA 361	1h 02m Denver	DEN 08:00 → SMF 09:35UA 2149	5h 56m	97%	91%
United Details →	AUS 06:00 → LAX 07:40UA 4642 · flown by SkyWest	1h 40m Los Angeles	LAX 09:20 → SMF 10:56UA 5372 · flown by SkyWest	6h 56m	100%	89%
Southwest Details →	AUS 06:10 → LAX 07:15WN 332	2h 15m Los Angeles	LAX 09:30 → SMF 10:55WN 4454	6h 45m	100%	89%
Alaska Details →	AUS 07:15 → PDX 09:25AS 541	1h 35m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	7h 18m	97%	87%
Delta Details →	AUS 07:25 → LAX 08:37DL 306	3h 28m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	8h 08m	99%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	AUS 08:30 → SEA 10:58AS 215	57m Seattle	SEA 11:55 → SMF 13:57AS 1428	7h 27m	63%	45%
Alaska Details →	AUS 14:59 → SAN 16:05AS 3084 · flown by SkyWest	51m San Diego	SAN 16:56 → SMF 18:38AS 2334 · flown by Horizon	5h 39m	52%	30%
American Details →	AUS 18:54 → DFW 20:11AA 3402 · flown by Envoy	48m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 20:59 → SMF 22:33AA 3314	5h 39m	54%	30%

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

SAN · 1h 05m · leaves 06:45 0%

DAL · 1h 00m · leaves 05:35 2%

DEN · 1h 02m · leaves 05:39 3%

Afternoon and evening

SAN · 51m · leaves 14:59 48%

SNA · 50m · leaves 16:55 84%

MDW · 55m · leaves 15:30 89%

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 332 AUS 06:10 → LAX Delta DL 3755 LAX 09:13 → SMF Connection details →	1h 58m	6h 36m	99%	92%
American AA 6185 AUS 07:06 → LAX Delta DL 3812 LAX 12:05 → SMF Connection details →	3h 28m	8h 27m	99%	88%
United UA 4642 AUS 06:00 → LAX Southwest WN 4454 LAX 09:30 → SMF Connection details →	1h 50m	6h 55m	97%	88%

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