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

No nonstop, and no clear pattern: the best connection reaches Houston on time 83% of the time.

Best connections, any airlines

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


Frontier + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	SFO 21:39 → DEN 01:34F9 3440	3h 41m Denver	DEN 05:15 → HOU 08:40 +1WN 1730	9h 01m	94%	88%
United + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	SFO 21:20 → ATL 05:20UA 1603	3h 00m Atlanta	ATL 08:20 → HOU 09:28 +1DL 1509	10h 04m	97%	83%
Delta Details →	SFO 23:59 → ATL 07:42DL 690	3h 23m Atlanta	ATL 11:05 → HOU 12:11 +1DL 1195	10h 13m	99%	83%
Southwest Details →	SFO 05:10 → DEN 08:40WN 1424	3h 50m Denver	DEN 12:30 → HOU 16:05WN 1544	8h 55m	100%	79%
Southwest Details →	SFO 22:50 → BNA 05:10WN 3634	2h 50m Nashville	BNA 08:00 → HOU 10:05 +1WN 532	9h 15m	97%	78%
United + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	1h 40m Denver	DEN 10:15 → HOU 13:55WN 1543	6h 55m	95%	77%
United + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	SFO 06:00 → LAS 07:46UA 582	3h 39m Las Vegas	LAS 11:25 → HOU 16:35WN 4724	8h 35m	100%	76%
Delta Details →	SFO 06:00 → ATL 13:40DL 570	1h 31m Atlanta	ATL 15:11 → HOU 16:23DL 2381	8h 25m	96%	75%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	SFO 21:10 → BWI 05:25WN 2683	1h 25m Baltimore	BWI 06:50 → HOU 09:00 +1WN 3246	9h 50m	71%	57%
American Details →	SFO 11:24 → DFW 17:14AA 1849	1h 20m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:34 → HOU 19:51AA 3351 · flown by Envoy	6h 27m	67%	41%
Southwest Details →	SFO 13:20 → LAS 15:00WN 3644	48m Las Vegas	LAS 15:48 → HOU 20:55WN 4498	5h 33m	5%	2%

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 · 1h 10m · leaves 05:00 5%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 14m · leaves 15:37 35%

DAL · 1h 15m · leaves 15:10 59%

LAS · 48m · leaves 13:20 95%

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