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 84% on time.

Nonstops


Alaska	PDX	SMF	1h 38m	90%	0.6%	1,326	Flying now
Southwest	PDX	SMF	1h 30m	79%	0.2%	1,212	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Sacramento on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	PDX 05:00 → LAS 07:10WN 344	1h 25m Las Vegas	LAS 08:35 → SMF 10:05WN 860	5h 05m	96%	90%
Delta Details →	PDX 15:26 → SEA 16:40DL 4062 · flown by SkyWest	3h 45m Seattle	SEA 20:25 → SMF 22:28DL 4131 · flown by SkyWest	7h 02m	100%	90%
Delta Details →	PDX 05:30 → SEA 06:41DL 4008 · flown by SkyWest	3h 29m Seattle	SEA 10:10 → SMF 12:18DL 4125 · flown by SkyWest	6h 48m	99%	90%
Alaska Details →	PDX 05:00 → SEA 05:53AS 2431 · flown by Horizon	1h 35m Seattle	SEA 07:28 → SMF 09:26AS 682	4h 26m	96%	89%
Delta Details →	PDX 06:30 → LAX 09:00DL 2947	3h 05m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	7h 03m	99%	89%
Delta Details →	PDX 12:23 → SEA 13:34DL 3802 · flown by SkyWest	3h 26m Seattle	SEA 17:00 → SMF 19:01DL 4043 · flown by SkyWest	6h 38m	100%	87%
Delta Details →	PDX 09:30 → SEA 10:55DL 3953 · flown by SkyWest	3h 50m Seattle	SEA 14:45 → SMF 16:47DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	7h 17m	99%	87%
Delta Details →	PDX 17:24 → SLC 20:19DL 1244	2h 45m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	6h 24m	99%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	PDX 07:32 → SAN 10:05AS 577	55m San Diego	SAN 11:00 → SMF 12:53AS 3439 · flown by SkyWest	5h 21m	71%	51%
Alaska Details →	PDX 08:19 → SEA 09:14AS 2108 · flown by Horizon	47m Seattle	SEA 10:01 → SMF 12:01AS 1380	3h 42m	68%	44%
Southwest Details →	PDX 14:45 → DEN 18:20WN 2519	1h 05m Denver	DEN 19:25 → SMF 20:55WN 136	6h 10m	55%	5%

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

SFO · 1h 16m · leaves 05:15 4%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 05:50 5%

SAN · 55m · leaves 07:32 29%

Afternoon and evening

LAX · 52m · leaves 13:25 12%

SEA · 50m · leaves 17:30 38%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 14:45 45%

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.


Alaska AS 695 PDX 10:45 → LAX United UA 5858 LAX 16:30 → SMF Connection details →	3h 10m	7h 21m	99%	91%
Alaska AS 2431 PDX 05:00 → SEA Delta DL 3881 SEA 08:47 → SMF Connection details →	2h 54m	5h 50m	100%	90%
Alaska AS 2161 PDX 07:00 → BOI Southwest WN 716 BOI 12:08 → SMF Connection details →	2h 49m	5h 36m	100%	89%

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