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

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 86% on time.

Nonstops


United	BUR	DEN	2h 27m	88%	0.2%	852	Flying now
Southwest	BUR	DEN	2h 20m	85%	0.6%	1,280	Flying now
Frontier	BUR	DEN	2h 32m	82%few flights	0.0%	34	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Denver on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Denver is 1 h ahead of Burbank). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	BUR 07:30 → SMF 08:55WN 845	1h 20m Sacramento	SMF 10:15 → DEN 13:35WN 3774	5h 05m	100%	96%
United Details →	BUR 13:45 → SFO 15:13UA 1453	3h 43m San Francisco	SFO 18:56 → DEN 22:44UA 2436	7h 59m	98%	85%
United Details →	BUR 16:13 → SFO 17:41UA 357	2h 15m San Francisco	SFO 19:56 → DEN 23:43UA 2019	6h 30m	97%	85%
Delta Details →	BUR 07:00 → SLC 10:01DL 2582	3h 19m Salt Lake City	SLC 13:20 → DEN 14:56DL 1623	6h 56m	98%	83%
Southwest Details →	BUR 07:00 → PHX 08:40WN 813	2h 20m Phoenix	PHX 11:00 → DEN 13:45WN 3262	5h 45m	100%	81%
United Details →	BUR 10:53 → SFO 12:21UA 2386	3h 49m San Francisco	SFO 16:10 → DEN 20:01UA 1430	8h 08m	98%	77%
Southwest Details →	BUR 14:00 → SMF 15:20WN 851	2h 20m Sacramento	SMF 17:40 → DEN 21:00WN 670	6h 00m	100%	77%
Delta Details →	BUR 16:54 → SLC 19:55DL 3693 · flown by SkyWest	1h 10m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → DEN 22:40DL 1667	4h 46m	96%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	BUR 16:13 → SFO 17:41UA 357	1h 15m San Francisco	SFO 18:56 → DEN 22:44UA 2436	5h 31m	63%	56%
United Details →	BUR 13:45 → SFO 15:13UA 1453	57m San Francisco	SFO 16:10 → DEN 20:01UA 1430	5h 16m	61%	47%
United Details →	BUR 18:42 → SFO 20:10UA 1508	50m San Francisco	SFO 21:00 → DEN 00:47 +1UA 301	5h 05m	37%	32%

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

SMF · 1h 20m · leaves 07:30 0%

LAS · 55m · leaves 09:35 2%

Afternoon and evening

LAS · 1h 05m · leaves 14:00 19%

DAL · 1h 05m · leaves 11:45 19%

SFO · 50m · leaves 18:42 63%

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 845 BUR 07:30 → SMF United UA 1023 SMF 10:50 → DEN Connection details →	1h 55m	5h 47m	100%	92%
Delta DL 2582 BUR 07:00 → SLC United UA 4720 SLC 13:05 → DEN Connection details →	3h 04m	6h 51m	97%	89%
Alaska AS 1383 BUR 14:09 → PDX United UA 2334 PDX 18:50 → DEN Connection details →	2h 24m	7h 20m	98%	85%

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