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 82% on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Alaska	LIH	SMF	5h 21m	86%	0.0%	122	Flying now
Hawaiian	LIH	SMF	5h 11m	76%	0.0%	87	Not 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 3 h ahead of Lihue). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	LIH 20:10 → LAS 05:00WN 2514	2h 18m Las Vegas	LAS 07:18 → SMF 08:48 +1WN 2359	9h 38m	100%	98%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 22:00 → LAX 06:32UA 1612	2h 41m Los Angeles	LAX 09:13 → SMF 10:46 +1DL 3755 · flown by SkyWest	9h 46m	100%	95%
United Details →	LIH 19:35 → DEN 06:28UA 2308	1h 32m Denver	DEN 08:00 → SMF 09:35 +1UA 2149	11h 00m	99%	90%
Southwest Details →	LIH 08:20 → HNL 09:05WN 2509	1h 55m Honolulu	HNL 11:00 → SMF 19:10WN 1942	7h 50m	100%	90%
American + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 22:25 → LAX 07:04AA 286	2h 26m Los Angeles	LAX 09:30 → SMF 10:55 +1WN 4454	9h 30m	96%	87%
American + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 21:15 → PHX 06:20AA 684	3h 15m Phoenix	PHX 09:35 → SMF 11:30 +1WN 781	11h 15m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	LIH 21:55 → SEA 06:44DL 375	3h 26m Seattle	SEA 10:10 → SMF 12:18 +1DL 4125 · flown by SkyWest	11h 23m	98%	86%
Delta + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	LIH 20:35 → LAX 05:10DL 435	2h 49m Los Angeles	LAX 07:59 → SMF 09:35 +1AA 6348 · flown by SkyWest	10h 00m	98%	84%

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

LAS · 1h 10m · leaves 20:10 2%

OGG · 1h 11m · leaves 09:27 3%

PHX · 55m · 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