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 5% of the time at 7 am and 30% of the time at 7 pm.

Nonstops


Southwest	DAL	DCA	2h 50m	67%	2.0%	1,732	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	DAL 06:00 → HOU 07:10WN 1628	1h 05m Houston	HOU 08:15 → DCA 12:20WN 1701	5h 20m	95%	77%
Delta Details →	DAL 06:05 → ATL 09:15DL 516	1h 45m Atlanta	ATL 11:00 → DCA 12:42DL 737	5h 37m	95%	74%
Southwest Details →	DAL 08:30 → MDW 10:45WN 1356	2h 00m Chicago	MDW 12:45 → DCA 15:35WN 2761	6h 05m	100%	67%
Southwest Details →	DAL 08:00 → CMH 11:20WN 4386	2h 25m Columbus	CMH 13:45 → DCA 15:00WN 1185	6h 00m	96%	66%
Delta Details →	DAL 15:59 → ATL 19:14DL 512	2h 41m Atlanta	ATL 21:55 → DCA 23:44DL 537	6h 45m	96%	65%
Delta Details →	DAL 10:09 → ATL 13:20DL 441	3h 20m Atlanta	ATL 16:40 → DCA 18:33DL 950	7h 24m	98%	61%
Southwest Details →	DAL 09:00 → AUS 10:00WN 4172	2h 25m Austin	AUS 12:25 → DCA 16:40WN 281	6h 40m	100%	60%
Southwest Details →	DAL 10:30 → HOU 11:45WN 23	2h 13m Houston	HOU 13:58 → DCA 18:02WN 1968	6h 33m	98%	58%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	DAL 09:10 → MCO 12:50WN 1725	50m Orlando	MCO 13:40 → DCA 15:55WN 1188	5h 45m	70%	37%
Southwest Details →	DAL 13:00 → STL 14:45WN 1412	1h 00m St Louis	STL 15:45 → DCA 18:45WN 3907	4h 45m	71%	35%
Southwest Details →	DAL 17:30 → HOU 18:45WN 45	1h 10m Houston	HOU 19:55 → DCA 23:55WN 4888	5h 25m	70%	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

HOU · 1h 05m · leaves 06:00 5%

BNA · 1h 05m · leaves 08:20 18%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 1h 09m · leaves 12:19 11%

HOU · 1h 10m · leaves 17:30 30%

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 1296 DAL 06:00 → DEN United UA 789 DEN 09:30 → DCA Connection details →	2h 30m	7h 59m	100%	91%
Southwest WN 1379 DAL 06:00 → PHX American AA 3191 PHX 08:30 → DCA Connection details →	2h 02m	8h 59m	100%	82%
Southwest WN 1408 DAL 07:00 → SLC Delta DL 820 SLC 10:30 → DCA Connection details →	1h 50m	8h 37m	90%	76%

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