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 7% of the time at 12 pm and 42% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops


American	PHX	DSM	2h 54m	79%	1.7%	894	Flying now
Southwest	PHX	DSM	2h 40m	73%	0.6%	166	Not flying now
Frontier	PHX	DSM	–	71%few flights	0.0%	7	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	PHX 06:15 → DEN 09:00WN 1706	3h 05m Denver	DEN 12:05 → DSM 14:50WN 1524	6h 35m	100%	88%
American Details →	PHX 00:36 → DFW 05:09AA 1818	2h 02m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 07:11 → DSM 09:11AA 3495 · flown by Envoy	6h 35m	96%	85%
United Details →	PHX 06:00 → DEN 08:52UA 337	58m Denver	DEN 09:50 → DSM 12:47UA 5211 · flown by SkyWest	4h 47m	93%	85%
Delta Details →	PHX 23:59 → ATL 06:39DL 929	2h 54m Atlanta	ATL 09:33 → DSM 10:45 +1DL 1704	8h 47m	99%	85%
United Details →	PHX 09:08 → DEN 12:00UA 597	1h 30m Denver	DEN 13:30 → DSM 16:15UA 1311	5h 07m	93%	82%
Delta Details →	PHX 23:04 → DTW 05:46DL 1566	2h 59m Detroit	DTW 08:45 → DSM 09:44 +1DL 5058 · flown by Endeavor	8h 40m	98%	81%
Delta Details →	PHX 06:50 → MSP 11:55DL 2553	3h 45m Minneapolis	MSP 15:40 → DSM 16:54DL 4913 · flown by Endeavor	8h 04m	99%	78%
Southwest Details →	PHX 07:30 → LAS 08:40WN 2336	2h 20m Las Vegas	LAS 11:00 → DSM 16:00WN 1755	6h 30m	100%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	PHX 15:30 → ORD 21:30AA 2786	1h 01m Chicago	ORD 22:31 → DSM 00:18 +1AA 4442 · flown by Republic	6h 31m	59%	38%
American Details →	PHX 10:15 → ORD 16:12AA 2252	48m Chicago	ORD 17:00 → DSM 18:33AA 4973 · flown by SkyWest	6h 18m	68%	34%
Southwest Details →	PHX 15:25 → DEN 18:10WN 3265	1h 12m Denver	DEN 19:22 → DSM 22:10WN 2940	4h 42m	47%	6%

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

MSP · 55m · leaves 06:50 7%

DEN · 58m · leaves 06:00 7%

IAH · 1h 03m · leaves 06:10 8%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 12m · leaves 16:15 24%

ORD · 58m · leaves 14:45 42%

DEN · 1h 12m · leaves 15:25 53%

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 3259 PHX 05:15 → DEN United UA 5211 DEN 09:50 → DSM Connection details →	1h 50m	5h 32m	98%	90%
Frontier F9 1376 PHX 06:40 → DEN United UA 1311 DEN 13:30 → DSM Connection details →	3h 53m	7h 35m	99%	87%
United UA 337 PHX 06:00 → DEN Southwest WN 1524 DEN 12:05 → DSM Connection details →	3h 13m	6h 50m	99%	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