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

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 3 in 4 on time.

Nonstops


United	DEN	SBA	2h 36m	77%	0.3%	797	Flying now
Southwest	DEN	SBA	2h 35m	67%	0.4%	276	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Delta Details →	DEN 05:40 → SLC 07:13DL 2544	3h 37m Salt Lake City	SLC 10:50 → SBA 12:04DL 3841 · flown by SkyWest	7h 24m	97%	92%
United Details →	DEN 13:25 → SFO 15:09UA 1812	3h 07m San Francisco	SFO 18:16 → SBA 19:43UA 5962 · flown by SkyWest	7h 18m	98%	92%
Delta Details →	DEN 15:55 → SLC 17:34DL 1623	3h 31m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → SBA 22:12DL 3803 · flown by SkyWest	7h 17m	97%	92%
Southwest Details →	DEN 05:45 → LAS 06:40WN 3106	2h 40m Las Vegas	LAS 09:20 → SBA 10:40WN 2336	5h 55m	100%	91%
American Details →	DEN 07:13 → PHX 08:08AA 1404	1h 56m Phoenix	PHX 10:04 → SBA 11:46AA 3784 · flown by Envoy	5h 33m	92%	87%
United Details →	DEN 18:05 → LAX 19:40UA 2240	3h 04m Los Angeles	LAX 22:44 → SBA 23:44UA 4796 · flown by SkyWest	6h 39m	97%	85%
Alaska Details →	DEN 08:00 → PDX 09:46AS 1626	1h 01m Portland	PDX 10:47 → SBA 13:05AS 2317 · flown by Horizon	6h 05m	89%	81%
United Details →	DEN 05:15 → SFO 06:53UA 2367	3h 36m San Francisco	SFO 10:29 → SBA 11:52UA 1578	7h 37m	99%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	DEN 15:47 → SFO 17:30UA 2633	46m San Francisco	SFO 18:16 → SBA 19:43UA 5962 · flown by SkyWest	4h 56m	56%	53%
United Details →	DEN 11:21 → SFO 13:04UA 1561	46m San Francisco	SFO 13:50 → SBA 15:17UA 5464 · flown by SkyWest	4h 56m	55%	38%
Alaska Details →	DEN 19:59 → SAN 21:40AS 3020 · flown by SkyWest	52m San Diego	SAN 22:32 → SBA 23:44AS 2175 · flown by Horizon	4h 45m	20%	14%

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

PDX · 1h 01m · leaves 08:00 11%

DFW · 1h 03m · leaves 06:20 12%

SFO · 1h 11m · leaves 07:40 19%

Afternoon and evening

SFO · 46m · leaves 15:47 44%

SAN · 52m · leaves 19:59 80%

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 3219 DEN 06:00 → SLC Delta DL 3841 SLC 10:50 → SBA Connection details →	3h 19m	7h 04m	98%	94%
Frontier F9 1747 DEN 06:45 → PHX American AA 3784 PHX 10:04 → SBA Connection details →	2h 19m	6h 01m	95%	91%
Southwest WN 4271 DEN 12:20 → PDX Alaska AS 2029 PDX 17:48 → SBA Connection details →	3h 53m	8h 44m	100%	90%

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