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 5% of the time at 7 am and almost half the time at 3 pm.

Nonstops


United	SBA	DEN	2h 28m	85%	0.6%	797	Flying now
Southwest	SBA	DEN	2h 20m	84%	0.7%	276	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Denver on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Denver is 1 h ahead of Santa Barbara). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	SBA 06:00 → LAX 07:03UA 4649 · flown by SkyWest	3h 52m Los Angeles	LAX 10:55 → DEN 14:27UA 2061	7h 27m	98%	88%
Southwest Details →	SBA 05:05 → LAS 06:30WN 4422	2h 25m Las Vegas	LAS 08:55 → DEN 11:50WN 247	5h 45m	100%	88%
United Details →	SBA 13:58 → SFO 15:08UA 2305	3h 48m San Francisco	SFO 18:56 → DEN 22:44UA 2436	7h 46m	98%	86%
United Details →	SBA 16:03 → SFO 17:29UA 5256 · flown by SkyWest	2h 27m San Francisco	SFO 19:56 → DEN 23:43UA 2019	6h 40m	99%	85%
American Details →	SBA 06:00 → PHX 07:36AA 1640	56m Phoenix	PHX 08:32 → DEN 11:29AA 1757	4h 27m	94%	83%
Delta Details →	SBA 05:50 → SLC 08:53DL 4069 · flown by SkyWest	1h 22m Salt Lake City	SLC 10:15 → DEN 11:53DL 1553	5h 03m	100%	83%
United Details →	SBA 06:15 → SFO 07:25UA 2340	1h 06m San Francisco	SFO 08:31 → DEN 12:22UA 2348	5h 07m	95%	79%
Delta Details →	SBA 16:50 → SLC 19:57DL 3853 · flown by SkyWest	1h 08m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → DEN 22:40DL 1667	4h 50m	95%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SBA 09:59 → SFO 11:25UA 4715 · flown by SkyWest	1h 18m San Francisco	SFO 12:43 → DEN 16:35UA 540	5h 36m	70%	54%
United Details →	SBA 13:58 → SFO 15:08UA 2305	1h 02m San Francisco	SFO 16:10 → DEN 20:01UA 1430	5h 03m	55%	43%
United Details →	SBA 12:37 → ORD 19:00UA 1009	1h 00m Chicago	ORD 20:00 → DEN 22:01UA 767	8h 24m	59%	41%

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 06m · leaves 06:15 5%

PHX · 56m · leaves 06:00 6%

Afternoon and evening

PDX · 1h 15m · leaves 14:39 19%

ORD · 1h 00m · leaves 12:37 41%

SFO · 1h 02m · leaves 13:58 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.


Southwest WN 4422 SBA 05:05 → LAS United UA 1315 LAS 09:37 → DEN Connection details →	3h 07m	6h 36m	99%	92%
Delta DL 4069 SBA 05:50 → SLC United UA 2004 SLC 10:39 → DEN Connection details →	1h 46m	5h 34m	100%	90%
Alaska AS 2178 SBA 07:34 → PDX United UA 1411 PDX 12:50 → DEN Connection details →	3h 05m	7h 54m	97%	84%

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