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

No clear winner: American’s DFW → SBA flights land within a few points of 82% on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


American	DFW	SBA	3h 35m	82%	1.4%	364	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 2 h behind Dallas-Fort Worth). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


American Details →	DFW 07:08 → PHX 07:34AA 474	2h 30m Phoenix	PHX 10:04 → SBA 11:46AA 3784 · flown by Envoy	6h 38m	96%	89%
Delta Details →	DFW 07:45 → SLC 09:34DL 1291	1h 16m Salt Lake City	SLC 10:50 → SBA 12:04DL 3841 · flown by SkyWest	6h 19m	93%	88%
United Details →	DFW 06:00 → SFO 07:47UA 790	2h 42m San Francisco	SFO 10:29 → SBA 11:52UA 1578	7h 52m	98%	78%
United Details →	DFW 08:45 → DEN 10:06UA 644	1h 20m Denver	DEN 11:26 → SBA 13:02UA 671	6h 17m	95%	77%
United Details →	DFW 15:21 → SFO 17:13UA 454	1h 03m San Francisco	SFO 18:16 → SBA 19:43UA 5962 · flown by SkyWest	6h 22m	80%	75%
American Details →	DFW 13:40 → PHX 14:08AA 2113	2h 54m Phoenix	PHX 17:02 → SBA 18:34AA 2515	6h 54m	99%	72%
American Details →	DFW 16:37 → PHX 17:09AA 1155	3h 18m Phoenix	PHX 20:27 → SBA 21:58AA 1731	7h 21m	97%	67%
American Details →	DFW 12:33 → PHX 13:00AA 1685	3h 41m Phoenix	PHX 16:41 → SBA 18:17AA 4927 · flown by SkyWest	7h 44m	95%	65%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DFW 18:12 → SLC 20:00DL 2812	1h 05m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → SBA 22:12DL 3803 · flown by SkyWest	6h 00m	62%	58%
United Details →	DFW 16:50 → DEN 18:20UA 1303	1h 03m Denver	DEN 19:23 → SBA 20:59UA 2479	6h 09m	59%	33%
United Details →	DFW 11:02 → SFO 12:51UA 1712	59m San Francisco	SFO 13:50 → SBA 15:17UA 5464 · flown by SkyWest	6h 15m	29%	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

DEN · 1h 20m · leaves 08:45 5%

SLC · 1h 16m · leaves 07:45 7%

Afternoon and evening

SLC · 1h 05m · leaves 18:12 38%

DEN · 1h 03m · leaves 16:50 41%

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 2997 DFW 13:15 → SFO United UA 5962 SFO 18:16 → SBA Connection details →	3h 18m	8h 28m	90%	84%
American AA 1972 DFW 17:30 → LAX United UA 4796 LAX 22:44 → SBA Connection details →	4h 00m	8h 14m	96%	80%
American AA 1523 DFW 07:04 → DEN United UA 671 DEN 11:26 → SBA Connection details →	3h 18m	7h 58m	98%	80%

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