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 8 am and 1 time in 3 at 3 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	SBA	ORD	4h 23m	59%	0.0%	117	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	SBA 19:50 → SMF 21:05WN 3603	2h 05m Sacramento	SMF 23:10 → ORD 05:36 +1AA 3060	7h 43m	98%	90%
Southwest + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	SBA 05:05 → LAS 06:30WN 4422	3h 10m Las Vegas	LAS 09:40 → ORD 15:42AA 2020	8h 37m	100%	90%
United Details →	SBA 18:18 → LAX 19:32UA 5647 · flown by SkyWest	3h 03m Los Angeles	LAX 22:35 → ORD 04:51 +1UA 353	8h 33m	100%	88%
United Details →	SBA 20:24 → SFO 21:50UA 5704 · flown by SkyWest	3h 00m San Francisco	SFO 00:50 → ORD 07:16 +1UA 1850	8h 52m	96%	82%
United Details →	SBA 05:00 → DEN 08:27UA 2865	2h 48m Denver	DEN 11:15 → ORD 14:55UA 2865	7h 55m	99%	80%
Alaska Details →	SBA 19:28 → SEA 22:00AS 400	2h 17m Seattle	SEA 00:17 → ORD 06:20 +1AS 328	8h 52m	96%	79%
Alaska + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SBA 10:51 → SEA 13:26AS 2143 · flown by Horizon	3h 49m Seattle	SEA 17:15 → ORD 23:22UA 1503	10h 31m	100%	78%
United Details →	SBA 06:00 → LAX 07:03UA 4649 · flown by SkyWest	1h 12m Los Angeles	LAX 08:15 → ORD 14:35UA 1946	6h 35m	93%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SBA 06:15 → SFO 07:25UA 2340	50m San Francisco	SFO 08:15 → ORD 14:50UA 1568	6h 35m	73%	62%
United Details →	SBA 13:58 → SFO 15:08UA 2305	1h 13m San Francisco	SFO 16:21 → ORD 22:59UA 1482	7h 01m	66%	53%
United Details →	SBA 20:24 → SFO 21:50UA 5704 · flown by SkyWest	48m San Francisco	SFO 22:38 → ORD 05:01 +1UA 2278	6h 37m	12%	9%

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

DEN · 1h 08m · leaves 05:00 5%

LAX · 1h 12m · leaves 06:00 7%

PHX · 54m · leaves 06:00 8%

Afternoon and evening

SFO · 48m · leaves 20:24 88%

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