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 7% of the time at 10 am and 31% of the time at 7 pm.

Nonstops


United	IAD	SAN	5h 23m	88%	0.6%	1,041	Flying now
Alaska	IAD	SAN	5h 38m	76%	0.6%	361	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	IAD 06:30 → IAH 08:39UA 1935	51m Houston	IAH 09:30 → SAN 10:51UA 2491	7h 21m	100%	85%
United Details →	IAD 08:15 → DEN 10:10UA 792	3h 20m Denver	DEN 13:30 → SAN 14:55UA 1302	9h 40m	97%	84%
United Details →	IAD 10:13 → DEN 12:05UA 1865	3h 50m Denver	DEN 15:55 → SAN 17:20UA 1281	10h 07m	99%	84%
United Details →	IAD 13:10 → LAX 15:42UA 1689	3h 08m Los Angeles	LAX 18:50 → SAN 19:51UA 5415 · flown by SkyWest	9h 41m	99%	83%
United Details →	IAD 06:30 → DEN 08:22UA 2031	2h 53m Denver	DEN 11:15 → SAN 12:41UA 1940	9h 11m	100%	82%
United Details →	IAD 08:15 → ORD 09:36UA 1775	3h 24m Chicago	ORD 13:00 → SAN 15:25UA 2683	10h 10m	100%	80%
United Details →	IAD 06:10 → ORD 07:27UA 2070	1h 19m Chicago	ORD 08:46 → SAN 11:21UA 660	8h 11m	95%	79%
United Details →	IAD 14:51 → SFO 17:38UA 2862	3h 22m San Francisco	SFO 21:00 → SAN 22:49UA 1863	10h 58m	98%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	IAD 17:42 → ORD 18:50UA 2497	1h 15m Chicago	ORD 20:05 → SAN 22:34UA 1531	7h 52m	69%	51%
American Details →	IAD 19:31 → DFW 21:50AA 1904	1h 05m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:55 → SAN 23:59AA 2568	7h 28m	54%	28%

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

ORD · 1h 07m · leaves 10:31 8%

MSP · 1h 00m · leaves 06:00 9%

IAH · 1h 01m · leaves 08:40 11%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 1h 16m · leaves 15:02 24%

ORD · 1h 15m · leaves 17:42 31%

DFW · 1h 05m · leaves 19:31 46%

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.


United UA 2101 IAD 09:00 → SEA Delta DL 2613 SEA 15:25 → SAN Connection details →	3h 34m	12h 13m	100%	83%
United UA 1689 IAD 13:10 → LAX Delta DL 4087 LAX 18:15 → SAN Connection details →	2h 33m	9h 06m	99%	82%
United UA 2031 IAD 06:30 → DEN Southwest WN 1700 DEN 10:32 → SAN Connection details →	2h 10m	8h 27m	100%	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