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 barely half the time at 4 pm.

Nonstops


United	DCA	SFO	5h 56m	77%	0.7%	727	Flying now
Alaska	DCA	SFO	5h 57m	69%	1.1%	363	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	DCA 10:58 → IAH 13:19UA 2190	2h 11m Houston	IAH 15:30 → SFO 17:35UA 589	9h 37m	97%	77%
JetBlue Details →	DCA 06:15 → JFK 07:27B6 254	3h 03m New York	JFK 10:30 → SFO 14:08B6 215	10h 53m	96%	71%
American Details →	DCA 18:01 → LAX 20:41AA 3283	1h 51m Los Angeles	LAX 22:32 → SFO 23:59AA 6510 · flown by SkyWest	8h 58m	89%	70%
United Details →	DCA 16:59 → IAH 19:27UA 1785	2h 32m Houston	IAH 21:59 → SFO 00:05 +1UA 1609	10h 06m	89%	70%
United Details →	DCA 06:00 → IAH 08:13UA 1450	1h 22m Houston	IAH 09:35 → SFO 11:35UA 2358	8h 35m	97%	70%
United Details →	DCA 10:30 → ORD 11:48UA 2201	2h 42m Chicago	ORD 14:30 → SFO 17:19UA 1577	9h 49m	98%	70%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:06 → JFK 07:25DL 5802 · flown by Republic	3h 50m New York	JFK 11:15 → SFO 14:36DL 363	11h 30m	100%	69%
JetBlue Details →	DCA 11:00 → BOS 12:35B6 2454	3h 15m Boston	BOS 15:50 → SFO 19:22B6 233	11h 24m	98%	69%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DCA 15:00 → MSP 16:48DL 2863	2h 02m Minneapolis	MSP 18:50 → SFO 21:00DL 2809	9h 00m	74%	46%
United Details →	DCA 19:10 → ORD 20:32UA 1193	1h 03m Chicago	ORD 21:35 → SFO 00:32 +1UA 2106	8h 22m	62%	45%
American Details →	DCA 13:44 → MIA 16:29AA 2915	46m Miami	MIA 17:15 → SFO 20:20AA 2035	9h 36m	59%	31%

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

DFW · 1h 18m · leaves 05:00 3%

PHX · 1h 14m · leaves 07:49 4%

DTW · 1h 00m · leaves 06:00 6%

Afternoon and evening

MIA · 46m · leaves 13:44 41%

BOS · 1h 00m · leaves 14:25 51%

PHL · 1h 14m · leaves 17:18 53%

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 5710 DCA 06:00 → BOS United UA 1074 BOS 11:35 → SFO Connection details →	3h 55m	12h 02m	100%	78%
American AA 1550 DCA 06:00 → BOS JetBlue B6 1833 BOS 09:50 → SFO Connection details →	2h 11m	10h 25m	97%	76%
American AA 4551 DCA 06:00 → JFK Alaska AS 227 JFK 09:30 → SFO Connection details →	1h 59m	9h 52m	96%	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