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

No clear winner: Southwest’s CMH → HOU flights land within a few points of 82% on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	CMH	HOU	2h 45m	82%	0.3%	354	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	CMH 05:10 → MCO 07:20WN 1193	2h 20m Orlando	MCO 09:40 → HOU 11:10WN 3174	7h 00m	100%	90%
Southwest Details →	CMH 05:45 → BWI 07:05WN 4376	2h 55m Baltimore	BWI 10:00 → HOU 12:15WN 956	7h 30m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	CMH 07:05 → ATL 08:42DL 2909	2h 23m Atlanta	ATL 11:05 → HOU 12:11DL 1195	6h 07m	98%	81%
Southwest Details →	CMH 06:35 → DAL 08:05WN 4324	2h 25m Dallas	DAL 10:30 → HOU 11:45WN 23	6h 10m	100%	80%
Southwest Details →	CMH 09:00 → MDW 09:10WN 1197	1h 00m Chicago	MDW 10:10 → HOU 12:50WN 2783	4h 50m	95%	80%
American Details →	CMH 05:48 → DFW 07:40AA 3418 · flown by Envoy	3h 11m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 10:51 → HOU 12:16AA 6413 · flown by SkyWest	7h 28m	100%	79%
Southwest Details →	CMH 06:50 → BNA 07:10WN 4477	50m Nashville	BNA 08:00 → HOU 10:05WN 532	4h 15m	95%	77%
Delta Details →	CMH 10:02 → ATL 11:37DL 1479	3h 34m Atlanta	ATL 15:11 → HOU 16:23DL 2381	7h 23m	99%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	CMH 20:05 → DFW 21:48AA 2337	50m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:38 → HOU 23:56AA 5465 · flown by PSA	4h 51m	56%	25%
Southwest Details →	CMH 15:25 → PHX 16:30WN 1202	55m Phoenix	PHX 17:25 → HOU 22:00WN 4203	7h 35m	53%	19%
Southwest Details →	CMH 16:25 → MCO 18:45WN 4918	50m Orlando	MCO 19:35 → HOU 21:00WN 4493	5h 35m	46%	15%

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

BNA · 50m · leaves 06:50 5%

MDW · 1h 00m · leaves 09:00 5%

ATL · 1h 20m · leaves 08:08 6%

Afternoon and evening

BWI · 1h 00m · leaves 17:35 46%

PHX · 55m · leaves 15:25 47%

MCO · 50m · leaves 16:25 54%

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 5700 CMH 06:07 → LGA Southwest WN 1711 LGA 10:30 → HOU Connection details →	2h 31m	8h 13m	98%	79%
United UA 728 CMH 09:00 → DEN Southwest WN 1544 DEN 12:30 → HOU Connection details →	2h 16m	8h 05m	95%	74%
Delta DL 2469 CMH 06:00 → ATL Southwest WN 4914 ATL 09:30 → HOU Connection details →	1h 54m	5h 35m	93%	72%

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