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 4% of the time at 9 am and 22% of the time at 10 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	IND	SFO	4h 58m	75%	0.4%	524	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	IND 05:35 → IAD 07:19UA 6210 · flown by Mesa	1h 16m Dulles	IAD 08:35 → SFO 11:19UA 1147	8h 44m	98%	83%
United Details →	IND 10:11 → IAD 11:55UA 3709 · flown by Republic	2h 56m Dulles	IAD 14:51 → SFO 17:38UA 2862	10h 27m	99%	81%
United Details →	IND 06:00 → ORD 06:20UA 3479 · flown by Republic	1h 10m Chicago	ORD 07:30 → SFO 10:19UA 1116	7h 19m	94%	80%
United Details →	IND 11:50 → IAH 13:25UA 3989 · flown by Mesa	2h 05m Houston	IAH 15:30 → SFO 17:35UA 589	8h 45m	96%	77%
United Details →	IND 17:26 → IAH 19:08UA 1420	2h 51m Houston	IAH 21:59 → SFO 00:05 +1UA 1609	9h 39m	95%	74%
Delta Details →	IND 12:18 → MSP 13:04DL 2456	2h 03m Minneapolis	MSP 15:07 → SFO 17:14DL 756	7h 55m	98%	73%
Delta Details →	IND 08:05 → ATL 09:44DL 1901	3h 12m Atlanta	ATL 12:56 → SFO 14:50DL 750	9h 49m	99%	72%
United Details →	IND 10:45 → ORD 11:05UA 3534 · flown by Republic	3h 25m Chicago	ORD 14:30 → SFO 17:19UA 1577	9h 34m	99%	72%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	IND 11:05 → DFW 12:27AA 1948	48m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 13:15 → SFO 14:58AA 2997	6h 53m	65%	35%
American Details →	IND 18:41 → PHX 19:23AA 3078	1h 00m Phoenix	PHX 20:23 → SFO 22:23AA 686	6h 42m	69%	32%
United Details →	IND 18:33 → ORD 19:00UA 5435 · flown by SkyWest	1h 04m Chicago	ORD 20:04 → SFO 22:57UA 1495	7h 24m	72%	29%

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

IAD · 1h 16m · leaves 05:35 2%

ATL · 1h 13m · leaves 10:07 2%

BOS · 1h 04m · leaves 06:40 4%

Afternoon and evening

LAS · 50m · leaves 20:00 39%

PHL · 50m · leaves 19:02 40%

PHX · 55m · leaves 21:15 52%

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.


Delta DL 861 IND 17:25 → LAX American AA 6510 LAX 22:32 → SFO Connection details →	3h 43m	9h 34m	98%	79%
Delta DL 5631 IND 06:40 → BOS United UA 1074 BOS 11:35 → SFO Connection details →	2h 28m	11h 22m	99%	78%
Southwest WN 2118 IND 09:35 → DEN United UA 1812 DEN 13:25 → SFO Connection details →	3h 10m	8h 34m	100%	76%

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