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 12% of the time at 10 am and 58% of the time at 7 pm.

Best connections, one ticket

Ranked by chance you reach Santa Ana on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Santa Ana 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 → SNA 10:59UA 1383	7h 29m	100%	91%
United Details →	IAD 06:30 → DEN 08:22UA 2031	2h 58m Denver	DEN 11:20 → SNA 12:51UA 1320	9h 21m	100%	88%
United Details →	IAD 12:40 → SFO 15:27UA 1434	3h 43m San Francisco	SFO 19:10 → SNA 20:55UA 589	11h 15m	98%	86%
United Details →	IAD 08:15 → DEN 10:10UA 792	3h 15m Denver	DEN 13:25 → SNA 14:56UA 1707	9h 41m	97%	84%
Alaska Details →	IAD 09:30 → SEA 12:16AS 361	1h 33m Seattle	SEA 13:49 → SNA 16:41AS 773	10h 11m	97%	82%
Alaska Details →	IAD 06:03 → SEA 08:48AS 409	2h 18m Seattle	SEA 11:06 → SNA 13:55AS 1357	10h 52m	98%	82%
United Details →	IAD 08:40 → IAH 10:59UA 1524	1h 31m Houston	IAH 12:30 → SNA 14:03UA 2780	8h 23m	95%	81%
United Details →	IAD 10:13 → DEN 12:05UA 1865	3h 55m Denver	DEN 16:00 → SNA 17:30UA 2657	10h 17m	99%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	IAD 17:51 → ATL 19:54DL 1695	57m Atlanta	ATL 20:51 → SNA 22:28DL 826	7h 37m	73%	56%
United Details →	IAD 17:41 → DEN 19:45UA 599	47m Denver	DEN 20:32 → SNA 22:01UA 725	7h 20m	55%	43%
United Details →	IAD 17:42 → ORD 18:50UA 2497	55m Chicago	ORD 19:45 → SNA 22:19UA 308	7h 37m	42%	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

SFO · 1h 11m · leaves 06:30 8%

SLC · 1h 03m · leaves 07:15 12%

DFW · 1h 05m · leaves 06:14 13%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 57m · leaves 17:51 27%

DEN · 47m · leaves 17:41 45%

ORD · 55m · leaves 17:42 58%

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 2156 IAD 13:00 → LAS Delta DL 4179 LAS 18:06 → SNA Connection details →	2h 57m	9h 28m	100%	88%
United UA 2241 IAD 13:10 → SEA Delta DL 3932 SEA 19:35 → SNA Connection details →	3h 40m	12h 20m	97%	87%
United UA 2101 IAD 09:00 → SEA Alaska AS 773 SEA 13:49 → SNA Connection details →	1h 58m	10h 41m	96%	83%

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