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 86% on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	LIH	SFO	5h 15m	91%	0.9%	682	Flying now
Alaska	LIH	SFO	5h 13m	73%	1.4%	216	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

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 ahead of Lihue). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Alaska + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 08:22 → HNL 08:59AS 1024	2h 17m Honolulu	HNL 11:16 → SFO 19:25UA 1572	8h 03m	99%	93%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 19:10 → HNL 19:50WN 664	2h 20m Honolulu	HNL 22:10 → SFO 06:09 +1UA 1346	7h 59m	100%	92%
Alaska + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 19:21 → HNL 19:58AS 1154	3h 03m Honolulu	HNL 23:01 → SFO 07:05 +1UA 1176	8h 44m	97%	88%
Delta Details →	LIH 20:35 → LAX 05:10DL 435	1h 50m Los Angeles	LAX 07:00 → SFO 08:23 +1DL 1421	8h 48m	97%	86%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 11:50 → HNL 12:35WN 2734	2h 05m Honolulu	HNL 14:40 → SFO 22:49UA 650	7h 59m	100%	81%
Alaska + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 09:27 → OGG 10:16AS 1040	3h 33m Kahului	OGG 13:49 → SFO 21:48UA 628	9h 21m	99%	78%
Alaska + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 11:58 → HNL 12:37AS 1064	3h 13m Honolulu	HNL 15:50 → SFO 23:59UA 1947	9h 01m	99%	76%
Alaska + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 11:31 → LAX 20:01AS 964	2h 31m Los Angeles	LAX 22:32 → SFO 23:59AA 6510 · flown by SkyWest	9h 28m	95%	76%

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 12m · leaves 19:35 2%

PHX · 56m · leaves 21:15 8%

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