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 12% of the time at 6 am and barely half the time at 9 pm.

Nonstops


United	SFO	BWI	5h 19m	90%	0.4%	688	Flying now
United	SFO	IAD	5h 12m	85%	0.7%	2,693	Flying now
Southwest	SJC	BWI	5h 05m	83%	0.4%	242	Flying now
United	SFO	DCA	5h 27m	80%	0.6%	727	Flying now
Alaska	SFO	DCA	5h 20m	78%	0.8%	363	Flying now
Southwest	SFO	BWI	5h 10m	65%	0.8%	365	Flying now
United	SJC	IAD	–	100%few flights	0.0%	1	Not flying now
Alaska	SFO	IAD	5h 09m	49%few flights	0.0%	37	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	SFO 16:10 → DEN 20:01UA 1430	3h 58m Denver	DEN 23:59 → IAD 05:27 +1UA 1924	10h 17m	100%	93%
United Details →	SFO 21:13 → TPA 05:38UA 649	3h 22m Tampa	TPA 09:00 → IAD 11:22 +1UA 2331	11h 09m	100%	93%
United Details →	SFO 07:00 → SEA 09:22UA 1708	3h 38m Seattle	SEA 13:00 → IAD 21:06UA 2131	11h 06m	100%	93%
United Details →	SFO 16:25 → LAX 18:05UA 1754	3h 25m Los Angeles	LAX 21:30 → IAD 05:36 +1UA 2632	10h 11m	99%	93%
United Details →	SFO 23:59 → IAH 06:04UA 505	1h 42m Houston	IAH 07:46 → DCA 11:56 +1UA 2047	8h 57m	95%	92%
United Details →	SFO 23:59 → AUS 05:46UA 1807	1h 44m Austin	AUS 07:30 → IAD 11:48 +1UA 525	8h 49m	98%	92%
United Details →	SFO 19:45 → LAX 21:29UA 298	1h 36m Los Angeles	LAX 23:05 → BWI 07:14 +1UA 1605	8h 29m	100%	91%
United Details →	SFO 23:30 → ORD 05:57UA 368	2h 43m Chicago	ORD 08:40 → IAD 11:52 +1UA 2277	9h 22m	100%	91%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SFO 10:25 → DFW 16:08UA 2842	1h 07m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 17:15 → IAD 21:24UA 1240	7h 59m	69%	54%
American Details →	SFO 11:24 → MIA 20:05AA 2565	1h 12m Miami	MIA 21:17 → BWI 23:54AA 3216	9h 30m	69%	39%
American Details →	SFO 11:24 → DFW 17:14AA 1849	1h 30m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:44 → IAD 22:46AA 1132	8h 28m	72%	33%

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

DEN · 1h 11m · leaves 05:00 2%

LAS · 1h 02m · leaves 06:00 2%

IAH · 1h 18m · leaves 05:00 2%

Afternoon and evening

BOS · 48m · leaves 12:20 53%

PHX · 1h 10m · leaves 13:08 64%

DEN · 55m · leaves 14:35 93%

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 4246 SJC 17:05 → DEN United UA 1924 DEN 23:59 → IAD Connection details →	3h 29m	9h 22m	100%	93%
Southwest WN 4541 SJC 16:20 → LAX United UA 2632 LAX 21:30 → IAD Connection details →	3h 50m	10h 16m	100%	93%
United UA 234 SFO 21:30 → DTW Delta DL 2341 DTW 07:10 → BWI Connection details →	1h 50m	8h 14m	100%	93%

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