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 1 time in 10 at 10 am and 28% of the time at 6 pm.

Nonstops


American	DSM	PHX	3h 13m	82%	1.6%	891	Flying now
Southwest	DSM	PHX	3h 05m	75%	1.2%	166	Not flying now
Frontier	DSM	PHX	–	86%few flights	0.0%	7	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Phoenix on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Phoenix is 2 h behind Des Moines). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	DSM 06:00 → ORD 07:40UA 1856	1h 22m Chicago	ORD 09:02 → PHX 11:03UA 2225	7h 03m	96%	88%
Southwest Details →	DSM 05:10 → MDW 06:30WN 1772	2h 10m Chicago	MDW 08:40 → PHX 10:20WN 3016	7h 10m	95%	88%
United Details →	DSM 11:34 → DEN 12:45UA 5288 · flown by SkyWest	2h 50m Denver	DEN 15:35 → PHX 16:35UA 1254	7h 01m	100%	82%
American Details →	DSM 05:18 → DFW 07:28AA 2326	3h 22m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 10:50 → PHX 11:19AA 2990	8h 01m	97%	79%
Southwest Details →	DSM 06:10 → DEN 07:00WN 1769	1h 40m Denver	DEN 08:40 → PHX 09:35WN 431	5h 25m	88%	79%
United Details →	DSM 09:14 → DEN 10:20UA 1521	1h 05m Denver	DEN 11:25 → PHX 12:25UA 1686	5h 11m	90%	79%
Delta Details →	DSM 10:54 → MSP 12:06DL 4998 · flown by Endeavor	2h 48m Minneapolis	MSP 14:54 → PHX 16:09DL 2284	7h 21m	98%	78%
American Details →	DSM 07:04 → CLT 10:30AA 2854	2h 45m Charlotte	CLT 13:15 → PHX 14:35AA 2902	9h 30m	98%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	DSM 13:41 → CLT 17:11AA 1763	1h 12m Charlotte	CLT 18:23 → PHX 19:51AA 1073	8h 10m	73%	44%
American Details →	DSM 13:04 → PHL 16:44AA 5165 · flown by PSA	46m Philadelphia	PHL 17:30 → PHX 19:37AA 1984	8h 33m	63%	36%
American Details →	DSM 16:48 → DFW 18:59AA 2421	1h 31m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 20:30 → PHX 21:02AA 1133	6h 14m	58%	32%

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 05m · leaves 09:14 10%

CLT · 1h 07m · leaves 07:04 10%

ORD · 46m · leaves 05:00 12%

Afternoon and evening

CLT · 1h 12m · leaves 13:41 27%

DEN · 1h 09m · leaves 17:17 28%

PHL · 46m · leaves 13:04 37%

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 4519 DSM 05:00 → ORD United UA 2225 ORD 09:02 → PHX Connection details →	2h 23m	8h 03m	94%	84%
United UA 4777 DSM 05:50 → DEN Frontier F9 2141 DEN 09:15 → PHX Connection details →	2h 16m	6h 26m	93%	80%
Delta DL 4998 DSM 10:54 → MSP American AA 2146 MSP 14:47 → PHX Connection details →	2h 41m	7h 16m	95%	79%

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