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 8% of the time at 10 am and 1 time in 5 at 5 pm.

Nonstops


American	MCI	DCA	2h 35m	78%	5.1%	930	Flying now
Southwest	MCI	DCA	2h 20m	74%	1.6%	997	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Washington on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Washington is 1 h ahead of Kansas City). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	MCI 05:15 → MDW 06:40WN 4276	1h 35m Chicago	MDW 08:15 → DCA 11:10WN 2569	4h 55m	98%	89%
United Details →	MCI 06:00 → DEN 06:56UA 355	2h 34m Denver	DEN 09:30 → DCA 14:59UA 789	7h 59m	98%	87%
United Details →	MCI 06:16 → IAH 08:25UA 740	1h 22m Houston	IAH 09:47 → DCA 13:57UA 2670	6h 41m	96%	84%
Southwest Details →	MCI 05:10 → TPA 08:45WN 4796	1h 00m Tampa	TPA 09:45 → DCA 12:05WN 4016	5h 55m	98%	83%
Delta Details →	MCI 06:23 → MSP 07:54DL 1635	2h 32m Minneapolis	MSP 10:26 → DCA 13:48DL 2983	6h 26m	98%	80%
Delta Details →	MCI 05:38 → ATL 08:44DL 1204	2h 16m Atlanta	ATL 11:00 → DCA 12:42DL 737	6h 04m	99%	78%
American Details →	MCI 05:30 → ORD 07:31AA 3845 · flown by Envoy	3h 14m Chicago	ORD 10:45 → DCA 13:59AA 4809 · flown by Republic	7h 29m	97%	77%
American Details →	MCI 05:31 → DFW 07:23AA 1098	1h 27m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:50 → DCA 12:52AA 1177	6h 21m	94%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	MCI 15:16 → ORD 17:05UA 2792	55m Chicago	ORD 18:00 → DCA 21:10UA 1369	4h 54m	66%	30%
Southwest Details →	MCI 17:30 → BNA 19:05WN 4269	1h 25m Nashville	BNA 20:30 → DCA 23:15WN 497	4h 50m	70%	29%
United Details →	MCI 15:27 → EWR 19:30UA 3522 · flown by Republic	50m Newark	EWR 20:20 → DCA 21:53UA 4457 · flown by GoJet	5h 26m	65%	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

TPA · 1h 00m · leaves 05:10 2%

CLT · 1h 14m · leaves 06:31 3%

EWR · 1h 02m · leaves 06:05 4%

Afternoon and evening

MSP · 55m · leaves 16:04 19%

IAH · 52m · leaves 14:56 20%

DFW · 47m · leaves 14:37 43%

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.


Southwest WN 2209 MCI 05:00 → MCO American AA 2088 MCO 10:40 → DCA Connection details →	1h 55m	6h 59m	96%	88%
Southwest WN 2546 MCI 06:55 → DEN United UA 789 DEN 09:30 → DCA Connection details →	1h 45m	7h 04m	96%	87%
American AA 3845 MCI 05:30 → ORD United UA 1381 ORD 10:00 → DCA Connection details →	2h 29m	6h 34m	97%	82%

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