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 75-minute layover misses 3% of the time at 8 am and 1 time in 3 at 6 pm.

Best connections, one ticket

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


United Details →	DCA 06:00 → IAH 08:13UA 1450	1h 17m Houston	IAH 09:30 → SNA 10:59UA 1383	7h 59m	97%	88%
Alaska Details →	DCA 08:00 → SEA 10:58AS 1	2h 51m Seattle	SEA 13:49 → SNA 16:41AS 773	11h 41m	99%	85%
United Details →	DCA 08:20 → IAH 10:41UA 697	1h 49m Houston	IAH 12:30 → SNA 14:03UA 2780	8h 43m	97%	83%
American Details →	DCA 05:00 → DFW 07:22AA 2243	1h 03m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:25 → SNA 09:33AA 2680	7h 33m	95%	81%
United Details →	DCA 14:55 → IAH 17:14UA 1381	2h 58m Houston	IAH 20:12 → SNA 21:45UA 2761	9h 50m	97%	81%
United Details →	DCA 07:55 → SFO 10:50UA 369	2h 49m San Francisco	SFO 13:39 → SNA 15:31UA 5440 · flown by SkyWest	10h 36m	99%	78%
American Details →	DCA 06:59 → DFW 09:26AA 1839	2h 57m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 12:23 → SNA 13:31AA 2684	9h 32m	98%	75%
United Details →	DCA 16:13 → DEN 18:25UA 746	2h 07m Denver	DEN 20:32 → SNA 22:01UA 725	8h 48m	94%	74%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	DCA 17:05 → ORD 18:30UA 654	1h 15m Chicago	ORD 19:45 → SNA 22:19UA 308	8h 14m	66%	54%
United Details →	DCA 14:00 → ORD 15:18UA 1888	1h 02m Chicago	ORD 16:20 → SNA 18:52UA 1107	7h 52m	73%	49%
Delta Details →	DCA 15:00 → MSP 16:48DL 2863	1h 40m Minneapolis	MSP 18:28 → SNA 20:24DL 2107	8h 24m	73%	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

IAH · 1h 17m · leaves 06:00 3%

DFW · 1h 03m · leaves 05:00 5%

SFO · 1h 10m · leaves 07:55 7%

Afternoon and evening

CLT · 47m · leaves 15:20 29%

ORD · 1h 15m · leaves 17:05 34%

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.


Frontier F9 685 DCA 07:00 → DEN United UA 1320 DEN 11:20 → SNA Connection details →	2h 13m	8h 51m	94%	81%
American AA 2006 DCA 07:49 → PHX Frontier F9 4957 PHX 12:20 → SNA Connection details →	2h 41m	8h 53m	97%	79%
Frontier F9 687 DCA 13:59 → DEN United UA 1704 DEN 19:10 → SNA Connection details →	3h 16m	9h 41m	98%	73%

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