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 2% of the time at 9 am and 31% of the time at 7 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	EWR	SMF	6h 16m	70%	2.1%	283	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	EWR 06:00 → IAH 08:41UA 492	1h 19m Houston	IAH 10:00 → SMF 12:07UA 2773	9h 07m	98%	91%
United Details →	EWR 10:45 → LAX 13:41UA 2679	2h 49m Los Angeles	LAX 16:30 → SMF 18:06UA 5858 · flown by SkyWest	10h 21m	98%	89%
United + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	EWR 06:30 → LAS 08:54UA 1139	2h 31m Las Vegas	LAS 11:25 → SMF 13:00WN 4532	9h 30m	98%	87%
Delta Details →	EWR 06:15 → MSP 08:13DL 1641	2h 10m Minneapolis	MSP 10:23 → SMF 12:11DL 1701	8h 56m	94%	84%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	EWR 06:00 → LAX 08:53UA 2434	3h 12m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	10h 33m	95%	84%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	EWR 08:50 → SEA 11:57UA 1330	2h 48m Seattle	SEA 14:45 → SMF 16:47DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	10h 57m	96%	83%
Alaska Details →	EWR 06:30 → PDX 09:33AS 1630	1h 27m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	9h 03m	93%	83%
United + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	EWR 06:42 → SNA 09:35UA 2423	2h 15m Santa Ana	SNA 11:50 → SMF 13:25WN 3001	9h 43m	98%	83%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	EWR 16:45 → ORD 18:34UA 661	1h 19m Chicago	ORD 19:53 → SMF 22:37UA 1828	8h 52m	69%	39%
American Details →	EWR 17:29 → PHX 19:51AA 1816	57m Phoenix	PHX 20:48 → SMF 22:42AA 2048	8h 13m	59%	38%
American Details →	EWR 17:10 → DFW 20:10AA 1810	49m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 20:59 → SMF 22:33AA 3314	8h 23m	43%	23%

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

IAH · 1h 19m · leaves 06:00 2%

SEA · 1h 20m · leaves 07:25 10%

ATL · 52m · leaves 06:00 24%

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 55m · leaves 17:12 33%

PHX · 57m · leaves 17:29 41%

DFW · 49m · leaves 17:10 57%

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