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 4% of the time at 9 am and 1 time in 3 at 3 pm.

Nonstops


United	SFO	DTW	4h 41m	85%	0.2%	406	Flying now
Delta	SFO	DTW	4h 33m	78%	0.8%	1,388	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	1h 00m Denver	DEN 09:35 → DTW 14:27UA 1915	6h 27m	96%	92%
Delta Details →	SFO 05:50 → SLC 08:42DL 1331	1h 03m Salt Lake City	SLC 09:45 → DTW 15:14DL 2236	6h 24m	96%	90%
United Details →	SFO 21:30 → IAD 05:53UA 357	2h 42m Dulles	IAD 08:35 → DTW 10:14 +1UA 6137 · flown by Mesa	9h 44m	100%	89%
United Details →	SFO 00:45 → IAH 06:34UA 604	3h 11m Houston	IAH 09:45 → DTW 13:42UA 4064 · flown by Mesa	9h 57m	99%	89%
United Details →	SFO 05:00 → IAH 10:55UA 2168	3h 03m Houston	IAH 13:58 → DTW 17:59UA 6131 · flown by Mesa	9h 59m	100%	87%
Delta Details →	SFO 00:35 → MSP 06:09DL 2789	2h 51m Minneapolis	MSP 09:00 → DTW 11:43DL 1433	8h 08m	98%	87%
United Details →	SFO 22:38 → ORD 05:01UA 2278	2h 19m Chicago	ORD 07:20 → DTW 09:52 +1UA 1344	8h 14m	94%	87%
Delta Details →	SFO 07:00 → LAX 08:30DL 1598	1h 15m Los Angeles	LAX 09:45 → DTW 17:10DL 494	7h 10m	96%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	SFO 11:24 → DFW 17:14AA 1849	1h 33m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:47 → DTW 22:36AA 3108	8h 12m	74%	37%
United Details →	SFO 12:00 → ORD 18:35UA 2317	1h 12m Chicago	ORD 19:47 → DTW 22:19UA 2426	7h 19m	59%	36%
American Details →	SFO 12:18 → PHX 14:29AA 2548	59m Phoenix	PHX 15:28 → DTW 22:21AA 3140	7h 01m	52%	34%

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

LAX · 1h 15m · leaves 07:00 4%

MSP · 1h 20m · leaves 06:00 4%

SLC · 1h 03m · leaves 05:50 4%

Afternoon and evening

AUS · 58m · leaves 09:48 34%

ORD · 1h 12m · leaves 12:00 41%

DEN · 55m · leaves 14:35 93%

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 649 SFO 21:13 → TPA Delta DL 808 TPA 08:30 → DTW Connection details →	2h 52m	10h 57m	99%	91%
Southwest WN 4231 SFO 05:00 → LAS Delta DL 470 LAS 09:59 → DTW Connection details →	3h 24m	8h 59m	100%	91%
Southwest WN 2222 SFO 06:05 → LAX Delta DL 494 LAX 09:45 → DTW Connection details →	2h 10m	8h 05m	100%	90%

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