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 6% of the time at 8 am and 1 time in 3 at 6 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


American	CLT	DSM	2h 37m	73%	3.1%	809	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Delta Details →	CLT 08:01 → ATL 09:16DL 3156	3h 09m Atlanta	ATL 12:25 → DSM 13:34DL 2094	6h 33m	100%	89%
American Details →	CLT 07:46 → ORD 09:02AA 2843	2h 28m Chicago	ORD 11:30 → DSM 13:05AA 4676 · flown by Republic	6h 19m	99%	88%
United Details →	CLT 08:40 → DEN 10:27UA 1963	3h 03m Denver	DEN 13:30 → DSM 16:15UA 1311	8h 35m	99%	86%
United Details →	CLT 08:05 → ORD 09:22UA 2771	3h 37m Chicago	ORD 12:59 → DSM 14:27UA 1781	7h 22m	100%	84%
Southwest Details →	CLT 07:35 → MDW 08:40WN 3048	1h 30m Chicago	MDW 10:10 → DSM 11:30WN 1771	4h 55m	98%	84%
Delta Details →	CLT 05:30 → ATL 06:42DL 3186	2h 51m Atlanta	ATL 09:33 → DSM 10:45DL 1704	6h 16m	99%	81%
United Details →	CLT 07:09 → IAH 08:50UA 575	3h 05m Houston	IAH 11:55 → DSM 14:10UA 6166 · flown by Mesa	8h 01m	98%	80%
American Details →	CLT 05:45 → PHL 07:27AA 2727	3h 08m Philadelphia	PHL 10:35 → DSM 12:34AA 5165 · flown by PSA	7h 49m	97%	79%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	CLT 16:18 → ORD 17:42AA 536	58m Chicago	ORD 18:40 → DSM 20:13AA 4102 · flown by Envoy	4h 55m	66%	41%
American Details →	CLT 14:35 → ORD 15:56AA 2080	1h 04m Chicago	ORD 17:00 → DSM 18:33AA 4973 · flown by SkyWest	4h 58m	75%	37%
American Details →	CLT 11:30 → DFW 13:16AA 1285	52m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 14:08 → DSM 16:00AA 2421	5h 30m	73%	34%

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

DTW · 1h 00m · leaves 06:00 6%

MSP · 58m · leaves 06:20 8%

ATL · 1h 20m · leaves 06:59 8%

Afternoon and evening

LGA · 1h 14m · leaves 15:18 26%

ORD · 58m · leaves 16:18 34%

DTW · 51m · leaves 17:03 41%

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.


American AA 1754 CLT 07:39 → DEN Southwest WN 1524 DEN 12:05 → DSM Connection details →	2h 55m	8h 11m	100%	88%
American AA 2843 CLT 07:46 → ORD United UA 1781 ORD 12:59 → DSM Connection details →	3h 57m	7h 41m	100%	84%
American AA 1930 CLT 07:42 → IAH United UA 6166 IAH 11:55 → DSM Connection details →	2h 30m	7h 28m	97%	81%

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