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 4 in 5 on time.

Nonstops


Southwest	MKE	PHX	3h 50m	80%	0.4%	962	Flying now
American	MKE	PHX	3h 53m	79%	1.8%	487	Flying now
Frontier	MKE	PHX	–	50%few flights	0.0%	4	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Phoenix on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Phoenix is 2 h behind Milwaukee). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	MKE 05:45 → MDW 06:35WN 3178	2h 05m Chicago	MDW 08:40 → PHX 10:20WN 3016	6h 35m	100%	92%
Southwest Details →	MKE 05:15 → DEN 06:50WN 2942	1h 50m Denver	DEN 08:40 → PHX 09:35WN 431	6h 20m	100%	89%
United Details →	MKE 05:00 → ORD 05:59UA 5799 · flown by SkyWest	3h 03m Chicago	ORD 09:02 → PHX 11:03UA 2225	8h 03m	96%	87%
United Details →	MKE 08:16 → DEN 10:05UA 5558 · flown by SkyWest	1h 20m Denver	DEN 11:25 → PHX 12:25UA 1686	6h 09m	94%	82%
United Details →	MKE 08:00 → IAH 11:00UA 5373 · flown by SkyWest	3h 20m Houston	IAH 14:20 → PHX 15:10UA 1238	9h 10m	95%	82%
Southwest Details →	MKE 06:10 → LAS 08:00WN 4197	1h 40m Las Vegas	LAS 09:40 → PHX 11:00WN 2310	6h 50m	96%	82%
United Details →	MKE 10:44 → DEN 12:33UA 5536 · flown by SkyWest	3h 02m Denver	DEN 15:35 → PHX 16:35UA 1254	7h 51m	100%	82%
Delta Details →	MKE 06:35 → SLC 09:13DL 2716	2h 17m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:30 → PHX 12:12DL 1431	7h 39m	95%	81%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	MKE 07:21 → DFW 10:00AA 2621	50m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 10:50 → PHX 11:19AA 2990	5h 58m	75%	60%
American Details →	MKE 12:52 → PHL 16:03AA 5018 · flown by PSA	1h 27m Philadelphia	PHL 17:30 → PHX 19:37AA 1984	8h 45m	72%	42%
American Details →	MKE 18:40 → DFW 21:17AA 2136	1h 42m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:59 → PHX 23:28AA 2319	6h 50m	55%	18%

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 10m · leaves 05:15 0%

ORD · 1h 11m · leaves 05:02 6%

DTW · 1h 03m · leaves 09:37 7%

Afternoon and evening

DTW · 1h 13m · leaves 13:22 29%

DEN · 1h 14m · leaves 17:46 31%

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 4197 MKE 06:10 → LAS American AA 2004 LAS 09:56 → PHX Connection details →	1h 56m	6h 58m	96%	89%
American AA 6358 MKE 05:02 → ORD United UA 2225 ORD 09:02 → PHX Connection details →	2h 48m	8h 01m	96%	88%
Southwest WN 2942 MKE 05:15 → DEN Frontier F9 2141 DEN 09:15 → PHX Connection details →	2h 25m	7h 01m	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