Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: Alaska’s SBA → SAN flights land within a few points of 77% on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Alaska	SBA	SAN	1h 04m	77%	5.0%	202	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	SBA 18:18 → LAX 19:32UA 5647 · flown by SkyWest	3h 08m Los Angeles	LAX 22:40 → SAN 23:40DL 3746 · flown by SkyWest	5h 22m	98%	84%
Delta Details →	SBA 05:50 → SLC 08:53DL 4069 · flown by SkyWest	2h 22m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:15 → SAN 12:17DL 1296	6h 27m	100%	83%
Delta Details →	SBA 12:45 → SLC 15:52DL 3841 · flown by SkyWest	1h 18m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:10 → SAN 18:06DL 1252	5h 21m	98%	83%
United Details →	SBA 06:00 → LAX 07:03UA 4649 · flown by SkyWest	1h 57m Los Angeles	LAX 09:00 → SAN 10:08UA 4643 · flown by SkyWest	4h 08m	95%	82%
Delta Details →	SBA 16:50 → SLC 19:57DL 3853 · flown by SkyWest	2h 58m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:55 → SAN 23:50DL 1202	7h 03m	99%	81%
United Details →	SBA 05:00 → DEN 08:27UA 2865	2h 48m Denver	DEN 11:15 → SAN 12:41UA 1940	7h 41m	99%	81%
Southwest Details →	SBA 06:05 → DEN 09:20WN 4125	1h 12m Denver	DEN 10:32 → SAN 12:00WN 1700	5h 52m	98%	78%
United Details →	SBA 16:03 → SFO 17:29UA 5256 · flown by SkyWest	3h 31m San Francisco	SFO 21:00 → SAN 22:49UA 1863	6h 46m	100%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SBA 06:15 → SFO 07:25UA 2340	50m San Francisco	SFO 08:15 → SAN 09:59UA 444	3h 44m	73%	59%
American Details →	SBA 12:39 → DFW 18:05AA 2510	57m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 19:02 → SAN 20:03AA 1243	7h 24m	69%	38%
United Details →	SBA 09:59 → SFO 11:25UA 4715 · flown by SkyWest	56m San Francisco	SFO 12:21 → SAN 14:08UA 1257	4h 09m	35%	23%

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 12m · leaves 06:05 2%

PDX · 1h 01m · leaves 07:34 7%

SFO · 50m · leaves 06:15 27%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 57m · leaves 12:39 31%

PDX · 51m · leaves 14:39 46%

SFO · 52m · leaves 20:24 85%

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