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

The nonstop is quickest: Southwest SBA → SMF (1h 20m), on time 83% of the time. Southwest via Las Vegas (3h 43m) is more reliable, 96%, but takes 2h 23m longer.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	SBA	SMF	1h 20m	84%	0.5%	365	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	SBA 05:05 → LAS 06:30WN 4422	48m Las Vegas	LAS 07:18 → SMF 08:48WN 2359	3h 43m	98%	96%
Delta Details →	SBA 16:50 → SLC 19:57DL 3853 · flown by SkyWest	3h 07m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	6h 58m	99%	88%
Delta Details →	SBA 05:50 → SLC 08:53DL 4069 · flown by SkyWest	2h 42m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:35 → SMF 12:16DL 1423	6h 31m	100%	86%
United Details →	SBA 06:00 → LAX 07:03UA 4649 · flown by SkyWest	2h 17m Los Angeles	LAX 09:20 → SMF 10:56UA 5372 · flown by SkyWest	4h 56m	96%	85%
Alaska Details →	SBA 07:34 → PDX 09:45AS 2178 · flown by Horizon	1h 15m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	4h 59m	94%	85%
American Details →	SBA 09:45 → PHX 11:23AA 4031 · flown by Envoy	2h 12m Phoenix	PHX 13:35 → SMF 15:43AA 6354 · flown by SkyWest	5h 58m	97%	83%
Delta Details →	SBA 12:45 → SLC 15:52DL 3841 · flown by SkyWest	1h 43m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:35 → SMF 18:16DL 2585	5h 31m	99%	80%
American Details →	SBA 06:00 → PHX 07:36AA 1640	2h 28m Phoenix	PHX 10:04 → SMF 12:04AA 2630	6h 04m	99%	75%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SBA 10:51 → SEA 13:26AS 2143 · flown by Horizon	50m Seattle	SEA 14:16 → SMF 16:11AS 681	5h 20m	73%	59%
United Details →	SBA 20:24 → SFO 21:50UA 5704 · flown by SkyWest	1h 04m San Francisco	SFO 22:54 → SMF 23:59UA 1302	3h 35m	25%	15%

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

LAS · 48m · leaves 05:05 2%

DEN · 1h 00m · leaves 06:05 4%

PDX · 1h 15m · leaves 07:34 6%

Afternoon and evening

PDX · 1h 10m · leaves 14:39 21%

SFO · 1h 04m · leaves 20:24 75%

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.


United UA 4649 SBA 06:00 → LAX Delta DL 3755 LAX 09:13 → SMF Connection details →	2h 10m	4h 46m	94%	89%
American AA 1640 SBA 06:00 → PHX Southwest WN 781 PHX 09:35 → SMF Connection details →	1h 59m	5h 30m	96%	84%
Southwest WN 4125 SBA 06:05 → DEN United UA 1415 DEN 11:30 → SMF Connection details →	2h 10m	7h 00m	98%	81%

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