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

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 83% on time.

Nonstops


Delta	SEA	SMF	2h 03m	90%	0.2%	1,634	Flying now
Alaska	SEA	SMF	1h 55m	81%	0.8%	1,788	Flying now
Southwest	SEA	SMF	1h 55m	74%	0.4%	1,140	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.


Alaska Details →	SEA 06:42 → PDX 07:37AS 2432 · flown by Horizon	3h 23m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	5h 51m	100%	89%
Delta Details →	SEA 07:15 → LAX 10:05DL 1628	2h 00m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	6h 18m	98%	88%
Southwest Details →	SEA 07:30 → LAS 10:05WN 2175	1h 20m Las Vegas	LAS 11:25 → SMF 13:00WN 4532	5h 30m	97%	86%
Alaska Details →	SEA 10:14 → PDX 11:21AS 3090 · flown by SkyWest	3h 11m Portland	PDX 14:32 → SMF 16:06AS 2405 · flown by Horizon	5h 52m	100%	85%
Delta Details →	SEA 05:30 → SLC 08:30DL 1128	3h 05m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:35 → SMF 12:16DL 1423	6h 51m	99%	84%
Delta Details →	SEA 17:59 → SLC 21:09DL 1165	1h 55m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	5h 49m	94%	83%
Delta Details →	SEA 12:35 → LAX 15:26DL 2914	1h 17m Los Angeles	LAX 16:43 → SMF 18:15DL 3712 · flown by SkyWest	5h 40m	94%	82%
Alaska Details →	SEA 14:23 → SAN 17:17AS 1432	2h 39m San Diego	SAN 19:56 → SMF 21:45AS 3006 · flown by SkyWest	7h 22m	98%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SEA 13:30 → SFO 15:48UA 737	1h 20m San Francisco	SFO 17:08 → SMF 18:16UA 5796 · flown by SkyWest	4h 46m	73%	55%
Alaska Details →	SEA 11:26 → SAN 14:18AS 1346	55m San Diego	SAN 15:13 → SMF 17:00AS 3035 · flown by SkyWest	5h 34m	39%	32%
Alaska Details →	SEA 17:53 → SAN 20:49AS 1388	58m San Diego	SAN 21:47 → SMF 23:32AS 1621	5h 39m	41%	28%

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

SLC · 1h 12m · leaves 07:15 4%

PDX · 1h 11m · leaves 08:45 4%

PHX · 46m · leaves 06:16 18%

Afternoon and evening

SFO · 1h 20m · leaves 13:30 27%

SAN · 58m · leaves 17:53 59%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 14:35 76%

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 248 SEA 07:07 → BOI Southwest WN 716 BOI 12:08 → SMF Connection details →	2h 28m	5h 29m	97%	89%
Alaska AS 505 SEA 06:03 → LAX Delta DL 3812 LAX 12:05 → SMF Connection details →	3h 18m	7h 30m	99%	88%
Delta DL 3953 SEA 07:30 → PDX Alaska AS 2399 PDX 11:00 → SMF Connection details →	2h 21m	5h 03m	98%	88%

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