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

The nonstop is quickest: Southwest BNA → SMF (4h 45m), on time 68% of the time. United via Bush (7h 37m) is more reliable, 92%, but takes 2h 52m longer.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	BNA	SMF	4h 45m	69%	0.6%	345	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 Nashville). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	BNA 06:30 → IAH 08:42UA 396	1h 18m Houston	IAH 10:00 → SMF 12:07UA 2773	7h 37m	97%	92%
Delta Details →	BNA 06:00 → MSP 08:12DL 2221	2h 11m Minneapolis	MSP 10:23 → SMF 12:11DL 1701	8h 11m	99%	91%
Southwest Details →	BNA 08:15 → LAX 10:30WN 991	1h 45m Los Angeles	LAX 12:15 → SMF 13:35WN 265	7h 20m	100%	88%
Southwest Details →	BNA 07:00 → LAS 08:50WN 3993	2h 35m Las Vegas	LAS 11:25 → SMF 13:00WN 4532	8h 00m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	BNA 06:25 → LAX 08:46DL 891	3h 19m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	9h 08m	99%	88%
Southwest Details →	BNA 05:20 → PHX 06:55WN 635	2h 40m Phoenix	PHX 09:35 → SMF 11:30WN 781	8h 10m	100%	88%
Southwest Details →	BNA 06:35 → LAS 08:25WN 544	1h 10m Las Vegas	LAS 09:35 → SMF 11:10WN 1122	6h 35m	94%	86%
Delta Details →	BNA 14:59 → LAX 17:12DL 355	1h 39m Los Angeles	LAX 18:51 → SMF 20:25DL 3759 · flown by SkyWest	7h 26m	97%	84%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	BNA 14:51 → ATL 17:04DL 3159	55m Atlanta	ATL 17:59 → SMF 19:53DL 743	7h 02m	70%	53%
American Details →	BNA 07:28 → PHX 09:13AA 3086	51m Phoenix	PHX 10:04 → SMF 12:04AA 2630	6h 36m	68%	52%
United Details →	BNA 16:59 → ORD 19:00UA 1884	53m Chicago	ORD 19:53 → SMF 22:37UA 1828	7h 38m	42%	24%

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 15m · leaves 08:05 4%

LAS · 1h 10m · leaves 06:35 6%

DFW · 1h 18m · leaves 05:01 10%

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 53m · leaves 16:59 58%

MDW · 1h 05m · leaves 16:15 61%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 18:40 62%

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 891 BNA 06:25 → LAX Southwest WN 265 LAX 12:15 → SMF Connection details →	3h 29m	9h 10m	99%	87%
Southwest WN 800 BNA 05:15 → DEN Frontier F9 3665 DEN 09:01 → SMF Connection details →	2h 01m	7h 25m	100%	82%
American AA 3237 BNA 07:30 → LAX Delta DL 3812 LAX 12:05 → SMF Connection details →	2h 09m	8h 03m	90%	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