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

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 85% on time.

Nonstops


Delta	LAX	SMF	1h 31m	89%	0.1%	2,042	Flying now
United	LAX	SMF	1h 36m	89%	0.4%	826	Flying now
American	LAX	SMF	1h 34m	83%	0.9%	917	Flying now
Frontier	LAX	SMF	1h 33m	83%	2.2%	226	Flying now
Southwest	LAX	SMF	1h 30m	80%	0.2%	1,629	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	LAX 05:05 → PHX 06:30WN 116	1h 15m Phoenix	PHX 07:45 → SMF 09:45WN 2885	4h 38m	100%	94%
Southwest Details →	LAX 05:35 → LAS 06:50WN 2403	1h 45m Las Vegas	LAS 08:35 → SMF 10:05WN 860	4h 30m	100%	94%
Alaska Details →	LAX 07:00 → PDX 09:21AS 668	1h 39m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	5h 33m	98%	89%
Delta Details →	LAX 17:05 → SLC 19:59DL 2311	3h 05m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	6h 43m	98%	87%
Delta Details →	LAX 09:40 → SEA 12:30DL 1714	2h 15m Seattle	SEA 14:45 → SMF 16:47DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	7h 07m	98%	86%
Delta Details →	LAX 05:35 → SLC 08:30DL 2906	3h 05m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:35 → SMF 12:16DL 1423	6h 46m	99%	85%
Delta Details →	LAX 11:59 → SEA 14:54DL 1045	2h 06m Seattle	SEA 17:00 → SMF 19:01DL 4043 · flown by SkyWest	7h 02m	97%	85%
American Details →	LAX 10:00 → PHX 11:28AA 1668	2h 07m Phoenix	PHX 13:35 → SMF 15:43AA 6354 · flown by SkyWest	5h 43m	99%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	LAX 10:37 → DFW 15:55AA 3218	48m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 16:43 → SMF 18:20AA 651	7h 43m	67%	37%
American Details →	LAX 16:16 → DFW 21:33AA 2024	57m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → SMF 23:59AA 509	7h 43m	51%	20%
Southwest Details →	LAX 14:45 → DEN 18:05WN 2392	1h 20m Denver	DEN 19:25 → SMF 20:55WN 136	6h 10m	59%	5%

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

DEN · 1h 00m · leaves 05:55 7%

SEA · 1h 14m · leaves 06:00 8%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 57m · leaves 16:16 49%

LAS · 1h 05m · leaves 17:00 57%

SFO · 1h 16m · leaves 20:10 59%

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.


Alaska AS 3393 LAX 07:00 → BOI Southwest WN 716 BOI 12:08 → SMF Connection details →	1h 56m	5h 36m	98%	89%
United UA 325 LAX 11:43 → SEA Delta DL 4043 SEA 17:00 → SMF Connection details →	2h 24m	7h 18m	99%	87%
Frontier F9 4499 LAX 09:18 → PDX Alaska AS 2405 PDX 14:32 → SMF Connection details →	2h 51m	6h 48m	100%	87%

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