Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

The best bet has a stop: United via Denver (6h 20m) reaches Sacramento on time 9 times in 10, against 80% on the nonstop.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	IAH	SMF	4h 21m	80%	0.1%	676	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 2 h behind Houston). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	IAH 06:00 → LAX 07:29UA 2110	1h 44m Los Angeles	LAX 09:13 → SMF 10:46DL 3755 · flown by SkyWest	6h 46m	99%	93%
United Details →	IAH 05:15 → DEN 06:47UA 1874	1h 13m Denver	DEN 08:00 → SMF 09:35UA 2149	6h 20m	97%	91%
United Details →	IAH 12:33 → LAX 14:06UA 2460	2h 24m Los Angeles	LAX 16:30 → SMF 18:06UA 5858 · flown by SkyWest	7h 33m	97%	90%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	IAH 07:20 → LAX 08:57UA 2600	3h 08m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	8h 13m	99%	89%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	IAH 08:00 → SEA 10:47UA 2654	3h 58m Seattle	SEA 14:45 → SMF 16:47DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	10h 47m	100%	88%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	IAH 14:54 → LAX 16:27UA 1951	2h 24m Los Angeles	LAX 18:51 → SMF 20:25DL 3759 · flown by SkyWest	7h 31m	99%	88%
United + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	IAH 07:20 → LAS 08:35UA 1264	2h 50m Las Vegas	LAS 11:25 → SMF 13:00WN 4532	7h 40m	99%	87%
Delta + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	IAH 07:10 → LAX 08:39DL 1216	3h 36m Los Angeles	LAX 12:15 → SMF 13:35WN 265	8h 25m	99%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	IAH 16:51 → ATL 20:13DL 2890	46m Atlanta	ATL 20:59 → SMF 22:54DL 682	8h 03m	44%	36%
American Details →	IAH 14:04 → DFW 15:30AA 2512	1h 13m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 16:43 → SMF 18:20AA 651	6h 16m	56%	30%
American Details →	IAH 18:53 → DFW 20:25AA 1929	2h 05m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → SMF 23:59AA 509	7h 06m	62%	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

ORD · 1h 05m · leaves 05:04 2%

DEN · 1h 13m · leaves 05:15 3%

SFO · 55m · leaves 05:22 4%

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 48m · leaves 17:02 27%

DFW · 1h 13m · leaves 14:04 44%

ATL · 46m · leaves 16:51 56%

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