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 (seasonal or thin)


United	MSO	LAX	3h 02m	89%	0.0%	61	Flying now
American	MSO	LAX	2h 56m	77%	0.0%	104	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Los Angeles on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Los Angeles is 1 h behind Missoula). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Delta Details →	MSO 18:29 → SLC 20:15DL 3808 · flown by SkyWest	2h 30m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:45 → LAX 23:46DL 2014	6h 17m	99%	95%
United Details →	MSO 06:05 → DEN 08:11UA 1026	1h 51m Denver	DEN 10:02 → LAX 11:34UA 405	6h 29m	99%	91%
Delta Details →	MSO 05:31 → SLC 07:04DL 2795	2h 36m Salt Lake City	SLC 09:40 → LAX 10:42DL 1095	6h 11m	97%	89%
Delta + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	MSO 13:17 → SLC 15:00DL 4112 · flown by SkyWest	1h 42m Salt Lake City	SLC 16:42 → LAX 17:53UA 5456 · flown by SkyWest	5h 36m	93%	88%
Alaska + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	MSO 14:04 → SAN 15:56AS 2169 · flown by Horizon	4h 00m San Diego	SAN 19:56 → LAX 21:14DL 4087 · flown by SkyWest	8h 10m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	MSO 05:55 → MSP 09:30DL 2907	2h 10m Minneapolis	MSP 11:40 → LAX 13:34DL 2119	8h 39m	99%	86%
American + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	MSO 06:45 → DFW 11:09AA 3924 · flown by Envoy	2h 36m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 13:45 → LAX 14:58DL 521	9h 13m	97%	84%
Alaska + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	MSO 11:22 → SEA 12:02AS 3100 · flown by SkyWest	2h 53m Seattle	SEA 14:55 → LAX 17:40DL 2830	7h 18m	100%	84%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	MSO 16:19 → SFO 17:50UA 5417 · flown by SkyWest	55m San Francisco	SFO 18:45 → LAX 20:29UA 1427	5h 10m	44%	35%

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.

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 1h 11m · leaves 13:15 18%

SFO · 55m · leaves 16:19 56%

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