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 2 times in 5 at 7 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Delta	DTW	SNA	4h 53m	70%	0.6%	323	Flying now
Spirit	DTW	SNA	4h 49m	86%few flights	0.0%	22	Not flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	DTW 06:15 → IAH 08:11UA 1229	1h 19m Houston	IAH 09:30 → SNA 10:59UA 1383	7h 44m	100%	91%
Southwest Details →	DTW 05:30 → DEN 06:35WN 1778	1h 15m Denver	DEN 07:50 → SNA 09:15WN 1745	6h 45m	95%	89%
Southwest + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	DTW 13:05 → LAS 14:25WN 4177	3h 41m Las Vegas	LAS 18:06 → SNA 19:28DL 4179 · flown by SkyWest	9h 23m	100%	88%
Delta + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	DTW 08:40 → DEN 09:53DL 1113	3h 32m Denver	DEN 13:25 → SNA 14:56UA 1707	9h 16m	99%	85%
Delta + Alaskatwo ticketsDetails →	DTW 12:31 → SEA 14:30DL 728	2h 50m Seattle	SEA 17:20 → SNA 20:08AS 472	10h 37m	98%	84%
Delta + Alaskatwo ticketsDetails →	DTW 08:30 → SEA 10:31DL 734	3h 18m Seattle	SEA 13:49 → SNA 16:41AS 773	11h 11m	98%	83%
Delta + Alaskatwo ticketsDetails →	DTW 06:00 → SEA 07:55DL 814	3h 11m Seattle	SEA 11:06 → SNA 13:55AS 1357	10h 55m	98%	82%
Delta Details →	DTW 12:25 → SLC 14:19DL 935	3h 06m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:25 → SNA 18:30DL 3856 · flown by SkyWest	9h 05m	99%	81%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DTW 16:46 → SEA 18:45DL 944	50m Seattle	SEA 19:35 → SNA 22:30DL 3932 · flown by SkyWest	8h 44m	61%	55%
American Details →	DTW 08:11 → PHX 09:24AA 3141	51m Phoenix	PHX 10:15 → SNA 11:43AA 2655	6h 32m	73%	45%
United Details →	DTW 18:20 → ORD 18:57UA 5264 · flown by SkyWest	48m Chicago	ORD 19:45 → SNA 22:19UA 308	6h 59m	46%	35%

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 15m · leaves 05:30 5%

ORD · 56m · leaves 10:33 7%

MSP · 1h 05m · leaves 09:00 11%

Afternoon and evening

MSP · 1h 08m · leaves 16:25 18%

SEA · 50m · leaves 16:46 39%

ORD · 48m · leaves 18:20 54%

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.

The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →

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