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 1 time in 10 at 6 am and barely half the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	CMH	SAN	4h 45m	64%	0.5%	194	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	CMH 05:45 → DEN 06:50WN 1186	1h 25m Denver	DEN 08:15 → SAN 09:40WN 1699	6h 55m	98%	85%
United Details →	CMH 05:30 → ORD 06:09UA 3524 · flown by Republic	52m Chicago	ORD 07:01 → SAN 09:29UA 2428	6h 59m	90%	84%
United Details →	CMH 09:00 → DEN 10:14UA 728	3h 16m Denver	DEN 13:30 → SAN 14:55UA 1302	8h 55m	98%	84%
American + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	CMH 05:30 → ORD 06:00AA 4487 · flown by Republic	2h 46m Chicago	ORD 08:46 → SAN 11:21UA 660	8h 51m	100%	84%
American Details →	CMH 05:08 → MIA 07:51AA 3662 · flown by Envoy	59m Miami	MIA 08:50 → SAN 11:12AA 2979	9h 04m	97%	83%
Delta Details →	CMH 07:05 → ATL 08:42DL 2909	3h 11m Atlanta	ATL 11:53 → SAN 13:21DL 540	9h 16m	98%	83%
Delta Details →	CMH 07:30 → SLC 09:29DL 2142	1h 46m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:15 → SAN 12:17DL 1296	7h 47m	97%	80%
United Details →	CMH 06:30 → IAH 08:16UA 2205	3h 44m Houston	IAH 12:00 → SAN 13:21UA 2399	9h 51m	98%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	CMH 08:29 → ORD 09:10AA 3572 · flown by Envoy	54m Chicago	ORD 10:04 → SAN 12:27AA 2482	6h 57m	72%	51%
United Details →	CMH 07:00 → SFO 09:06UA 1597	59m San Francisco	SFO 10:05 → SAN 11:51UA 2177	7h 51m	73%	49%
Delta Details →	CMH 18:37 → ATL 20:34DL 2280	54m Atlanta	ATL 21:28 → SAN 23:00DL 896	7h 23m	64%	47%

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

MSP · 52m · leaves 07:00 5%

BNA · 55m · leaves 06:50 5%

DTW · 1h 01m · leaves 06:30 6%

Afternoon and evening

MDW · 48m · leaves 20:08 47%

SEA · 49m · leaves 18:07 53%

SFO · 1h 05m · leaves 19:31 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.

The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →

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