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 12% of the time at 9 am and barely half the time at 7 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Delta	MSP	SMF	3h 52m	83%	0.5%	591	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 2 h behind Minneapolis). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	MSP 05:45 → DEN 06:53UA 2041	1h 07m Denver	DEN 08:00 → SMF 09:35UA 2149	5h 50m	97%	91%
Delta Details →	MSP 07:00 → SEA 08:50DL 1418	1h 20m Seattle	SEA 10:10 → SMF 12:18DL 4125 · flown by SkyWest	7h 18m	98%	89%
Delta + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	MSP 11:40 → LAX 13:34DL 2119	2h 56m Los Angeles	LAX 16:30 → SMF 18:06UA 5858 · flown by SkyWest	8h 26m	97%	89%
Delta Details →	MSP 15:15 → SEA 17:00DL 877	3h 25m Seattle	SEA 20:25 → SMF 22:28DL 4131 · flown by SkyWest	9h 13m	99%	89%
Delta Details →	MSP 07:06 → LAX 09:01DL 2110	3h 04m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	8h 27m	100%	89%
Delta Details →	MSP 13:10 → LAX 15:07DL 1651	3h 44m Los Angeles	LAX 18:51 → SMF 20:25DL 3759 · flown by SkyWest	9h 15m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	MSP 18:13 → SLC 20:07DL 2607	2h 57m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	7h 35m	99%	88%
Delta Details →	MSP 09:05 → SEA 10:59DL 868	3h 46m Seattle	SEA 14:45 → SMF 16:47DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	9h 42m	99%	86%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	MSP 20:20 → SLC 22:15DL 1051	49m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	5h 28m	66%	58%
United Details →	MSP 16:51 → DEN 18:17UA 2272	1h 20m Denver	DEN 19:37 → SMF 21:12UA 2132	6h 21m	74%	55%
Southwest Details →	MSP 19:00 → DEN 20:10WN 3063	1h 25m Denver	DEN 21:35 → SMF 23:05WN 1744	6h 05m	70%	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

SEA · 1h 20m · leaves 07:00 2%

ORD · 1h 20m · leaves 06:00 3%

DEN · 1h 07m · leaves 05:45 3%

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 55m · leaves 18:23 45%

MDW · 1h 10m · leaves 16:15 50%

ORD · 53m · leaves 17:13 51%

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