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 17% of the time at 9 am and 28% of the time at 5 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	ORD	SBA	4h 40m	75%	0.0%	117	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


American Details →	ORD 05:00 → PHX 06:32AA 2434	3h 32m Phoenix	PHX 10:04 → SBA 11:46AA 3784 · flown by Envoy	8h 46m	99%	92%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	ORD 08:55 → SLC 11:39UA 1972	3h 21m Salt Lake City	SLC 15:00 → SBA 16:10DL 3853 · flown by SkyWest	9h 15m	99%	85%
United Details →	ORD 16:45 → LAX 19:16UA 600	3h 28m Los Angeles	LAX 22:44 → SBA 23:44UA 4796 · flown by SkyWest	8h 59m	97%	82%
United Details →	ORD 06:00 → DEN 07:42UA 2806	3h 44m Denver	DEN 11:26 → SBA 13:02UA 671	9h 02m	100%	81%
American + Alaskatwo ticketsDetails →	ORD 12:10 → PDX 14:40AA 2545	3h 08m Portland	PDX 17:48 → SBA 20:04AS 2029 · flown by Horizon	9h 54m	89%	80%
United Details →	ORD 06:10 → SFO 08:47UA 246	1h 42m San Francisco	SFO 10:29 → SBA 11:52UA 1578	7h 42m	99%	79%
American + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	ORD 10:16 → LAS 12:15AA 2016	3h 45m Las Vegas	LAS 16:00 → SBA 17:25WN 2002	9h 09m	98%	77%
Alaska Details →	ORD 07:20 → PDX 09:45AS 413	1h 02m Portland	PDX 10:47 → SBA 13:05AS 2317 · flown by Horizon	7h 45m	80%	72%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	ORD 14:12 → PDX 16:47AS 325	1h 01m Portland	PDX 17:48 → SBA 20:04AS 2029 · flown by Horizon	7h 52m	73%	65%
American Details →	ORD 07:00 → DFW 09:35AA 1902	55m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 10:30 → SBA 11:47AA 2510	6h 47m	70%	50%
American Details →	ORD 17:34 → PHX 19:19AA 3261	1h 08m Phoenix	PHX 20:27 → SBA 21:58AA 1731	6h 24m	60%	43%

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

PHX · 1h 01m · leaves 05:00 13%

PDX · 1h 02m · leaves 07:20 20%

DFW · 55m · leaves 07:00 30%

Afternoon and evening

PDX · 1h 01m · leaves 14:12 27%

SFO · 57m · leaves 14:30 28%

PHX · 53m · leaves 14:25 72%

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