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 70-minute layover misses 5% of the time at 10 am and 18% of the time at 5 pm.

Nonstops


Delta	SAN	DTW	4h 29m	87%	1.0%	1,253	Flying now
Spirit	SAN	DTW	4h 31m	75%few flights	2.7%	37	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Detroit on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Detroit is 3 h ahead of San Diego). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	SAN 16:09 → SFO 17:49UA 2117	3h 41m San Francisco	SFO 21:30 → DTW 05:20 +1UA 234	10h 11m	99%	98%
United Details →	SAN 22:25 → ORD 04:36UA 1457	2h 44m Chicago	ORD 07:20 → DTW 09:52 +1UA 1344	8h 27m	98%	92%
American Details →	SAN 21:25 → CLT 05:12AA 1860	2h 16m Charlotte	CLT 07:28 → DTW 09:17 +1AA 1791	8h 52m	99%	89%
Delta Details →	SAN 06:15 → LAX 07:34DL 3743 · flown by SkyWest	2h 11m Los Angeles	LAX 09:45 → DTW 17:10DL 494	7h 55m	99%	89%
Delta Details →	SAN 22:30 → ATL 05:50DL 819	1h 35m Atlanta	ATL 07:25 → DTW 09:20 +1DL 1646	7h 50m	99%	89%
United Details →	SAN 06:15 → IAH 11:42UA 2760	2h 16m Houston	IAH 13:58 → DTW 17:59UA 6131 · flown by Mesa	8h 44m	100%	89%
American Details →	SAN 22:45 → ORD 05:11AA 1543	2h 19m Chicago	ORD 07:30 → DTW 10:03 +1AA 4103 · flown by Envoy	8h 19m	97%	88%
United Details →	SAN 21:59 → IAD 05:59UA 2129	2h 36m Dulles	IAD 08:35 → DTW 10:14 +1UA 6137 · flown by Mesa	9h 15m	98%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SAN 18:35 → SEA 21:35AS 1431	47m Seattle	SEA 22:22 → DTW 05:41 +1AS 343	8h 06m	57%	49%
United Details →	SAN 10:35 → ORD 16:52UA 1710	53m Chicago	ORD 17:45 → DTW 20:22UA 5232 · flown by SkyWest	6h 47m	74%	39%
Southwest Details →	SAN 13:20 → DEN 16:55WN 3496	2h 10m Denver	DEN 19:05 → DTW 23:55WN 2193	7h 35m	70%	20%

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

CLT · 1h 13m · leaves 22:28 3%

SEA · 1h 20m · leaves 07:00 5%

JFK · 49m · leaves 22:00 22%

Afternoon and evening

IAH · 1h 05m · leaves 11:58 18%

ORD · 1h 00m · leaves 14:00 30%

SEA · 47m · leaves 18:35 43%

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 2314 SAN 16:14 → SFO United UA 234 SFO 21:30 → DTW Connection details →	3h 41m	10h 06m	100%	96%
Alaska AS 707 SAN 21:06 → MCO Delta DL 2845 MCO 09:00 → DTW Connection details →	3h 42m	11h 27m	100%	89%
United UA 1457 SAN 22:25 → ORD American AA 4103 ORD 07:30 → DTW Connection details →	2h 54m	8h 39m	98%	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