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 1 time in 5 at 5 am and barely half the time at 9 pm.

Nonstops


United	SFO	DCA	5h 27m	80%	0.6%	727	Flying now
Alaska	SFO	DCA	5h 20m	78%	0.8%	363	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Washington on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Washington is 3 h ahead of San Francisco). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	SFO 23:59 → IAH 06:04UA 505	1h 42m Houston	IAH 07:46 → DCA 11:56 +1UA 2047	8h 57m	95%	92%
Southwest Details →	SFO 23:40 → MDW 05:55WN 3649	2h 20m Chicago	MDW 08:15 → DCA 11:10 +1WN 2569	8h 30m	98%	87%
United Details →	SFO 00:45 → IAH 06:34UA 604	3h 13m Houston	IAH 09:47 → DCA 13:57UA 2670	10h 12m	99%	87%
JetBlue Details →	SFO 20:38 → FLL 05:16B6 278	2h 11m Fort Lauderdale	FLL 07:27 → DCA 09:59 +1B6 1480	10h 21m	96%	86%
United Details →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	55m Denver	DEN 09:30 → DCA 14:59UA 789	6h 59m	95%	86%
American Details →	SFO 23:49 → MIA 08:35AA 2799	3h 24m Miami	MIA 11:59 → DCA 14:44 +1AA 1606	11h 55m	100%	85%
United Details →	SFO 00:50 → ORD 07:16UA 1850	2h 44m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DCA 13:04UA 1381	9h 14m	100%	85%
Delta Details →	SFO 22:55 → DTW 06:30DL 335	3h 35m Detroit	DTW 10:05 → DCA 11:34 +1DL 2476	9h 39m	100%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
JetBlue Details →	SFO 10:25 → BOS 19:12B6 1734	56m Boston	BOS 20:08 → DCA 21:52B6 455	8h 27m	68%	44%
American Details →	SFO 10:25 → ORD 16:59AA 2543	57m Chicago	ORD 17:56 → DCA 20:59AA 1787	7h 35m	69%	34%
United Details →	SFO 12:00 → ORD 18:35UA 2317	1h 10m Chicago	ORD 19:45 → DCA 22:54UA 2160	7h 54m	57%	30%

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

IAH · 1h 00m · leaves 05:00 3%

DEN · 55m · leaves 05:00 5%

EWR · 1h 09m · leaves 22:35 13%

Afternoon and evening

PHL · 57m · leaves 09:49 32%

ORD · 1h 10m · leaves 12:00 43%

BOS · 48m · leaves 12:20 53%

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 2477 SFO 23:05 → IND American AA 4434 IND 09:32 → DCA Connection details →	2h 54m	9h 14m	100%	90%
United UA 796 SFO 21:25 → BOS American AA 1605 BOS 09:18 → DCA Connection details →	2h 57m	10h 34m	100%	89%
United UA 1267 SFO 23:59 → MCO American AA 2088 MCO 10:40 → DCA Connection details →	2h 06m	10h 00m	94%	86%

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