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 80-minute layover misses 3% of the time at 7 am and almost half the time at 9 pm.

Nonstops


Frontier	DEN	SMF	2h 39m	82%	0.0%	183	Flying now
United	DEN	SMF	2h 35m	82%	0.3%	1,794	Flying now
Southwest	DEN	SMF	2h 35m	67%	0.3%	1,873	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	DEN 05:45 → LAS 06:40WN 3106	1h 55m Las Vegas	LAS 08:35 → SMF 10:05WN 860	5h 20m	100%	94%
United Details →	DEN 05:00 → IAH 08:32UA 320	1h 28m Houston	IAH 10:00 → SMF 12:07UA 2773	8h 07m	99%	93%
United Details →	DEN 11:45 → LAX 13:17UA 1013	3h 13m Los Angeles	LAX 16:30 → SMF 18:06UA 5858 · flown by SkyWest	7h 21m	99%	92%
Southwest Details →	DEN 07:45 → BOI 09:45WN 818	2h 23m Boise	BOI 12:08 → SMF 12:35WN 716	5h 51m	100%	91%
American Details →	DEN 11:44 → LAX 13:19AA 4957 · flown by SkyWest	3h 59m Los Angeles	LAX 17:18 → SMF 18:51AA 6346 · flown by SkyWest	8h 07m	100%	89%
United Details →	DEN 06:04 → LAX 07:34UA 1093	1h 46m Los Angeles	LAX 09:20 → SMF 10:56UA 5372 · flown by SkyWest	5h 52m	99%	89%
Southwest Details →	DEN 07:50 → ONT 09:10WN 1660	2h 50m Ontario	ONT 12:00 → SMF 13:20WN 3167	6h 30m	100%	88%
Southwest Details →	DEN 07:50 → LAX 09:20WN 1568	2h 55m Los Angeles	LAX 12:15 → SMF 13:35WN 265	6h 45m	100%	88%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	DEN 12:39 → DFW 15:46AA 2359	57m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 16:43 → SMF 18:20AA 651	6h 41m	62%	34%
American Details →	DEN 18:56 → PHX 19:52AA 1638	56m Phoenix	PHX 20:48 → SMF 22:42AA 2048	4h 46m	46%	31%
American Details →	DEN 18:10 → DFW 21:18AA 1322	1h 12m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → SMF 23:59AA 509	6h 49m	51%	20%

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

MDW · 1h 00m · leaves 05:55 2%

PDX · 1h 14m · leaves 08:00 4%

SEA · 1h 13m · leaves 08:40 10%

Afternoon and evening

ONT · 50m · leaves 18:40 72%

MDW · 50m · leaves 17:35 79%

LAX · 50m · leaves 18:45 89%

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.


American AA 4957 DEN 11:44 → LAX United UA 5858 LAX 16:30 → SMF Connection details →	3h 11m	7h 22m	100%	92%
United UA 1093 DEN 06:04 → LAX Delta DL 3755 LAX 09:13 → SMF Connection details →	1h 39m	5h 42m	95%	90%
Southwest WN 1568 DEN 07:50 → LAX Delta DL 3812 LAX 12:05 → SMF Connection details →	2h 45m	6h 43m	100%	89%

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