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 80-minute layover misses 1% of the time at 11 am and 16% of the time at 6 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	SFO	MSY	4h 12m	84%	0.2%	523	Flying now
American	SFO	MSY	–	100%few flights	0.0%	1	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	SFO 00:50 → ORD 07:16UA 1850	3h 09m Chicago	ORD 10:25 → MSY 12:55UA 1850	10h 05m	100%	95%
United Details →	SFO 21:30 → IAD 05:53UA 357	2h 47m Dulles	IAD 08:40 → MSY 10:24 +1UA 2253	10h 54m	100%	91%
Southwest Details →	SFO 22:50 → BNA 05:10WN 3634	2h 55m Nashville	BNA 08:05 → MSY 09:40 +1WN 594	8h 50m	97%	89%
Southwest Details →	SFO 05:00 → LAS 06:35WN 4231	1h 40m Las Vegas	LAS 08:15 → MSY 13:50WN 2280	6h 50m	100%	88%
United Details →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	1h 15m Denver	DEN 09:50 → MSY 13:39UA 2273	6h 39m	98%	88%
Delta Details →	SFO 22:59 → ATL 06:40DL 495	2h 18m Atlanta	ATL 08:58 → MSY 09:30 +1DL 1424	8h 34m	96%	86%
United Details →	SFO 12:15 → IAH 18:27UA 1387	3h 48m Houston	IAH 22:15 → MSY 23:26UA 2474	9h 11m	100%	85%
American Details →	SFO 23:08 → ORD 05:29AA 2554	3h 36m Chicago	ORD 09:05 → MSY 11:44 +1AA 4748 · flown by Republic	10h 32m	99%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SFO 10:50 → IAD 19:11UA 336	51m Dulles	IAD 20:02 → MSY 21:49UA 2042	8h 59m	70%	48%
United Details →	SFO 12:00 → ORD 18:35UA 2317	1h 36m Chicago	ORD 20:11 → MSY 22:46UA 1761	8h 46m	73%	43%
American Details →	SFO 15:37 → DFW 21:24AA 2325	1h 06m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → MSY 23:58AA 1472	6h 21m	58%	24%

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

DEN · 1h 15m · leaves 05:00 2%

IAH · 1h 00m · leaves 05:00 3%

MSP · 1h 10m · leaves 06:00 4%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 06m · leaves 15:37 42%

DAL · 1h 15m · leaves 15:10 59%

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 Southwest WN 934 TPA 07:55 → MSY Connection details →	2h 17m	9h 22m	95%	90%
United UA 1603 SFO 21:20 → ATL Delta DL 1424 ATL 08:58 → MSY Connection details →	3h 38m	10h 13m	98%	88%
United UA 368 SFO 23:30 → ORD American AA 4748 ORD 09:05 → MSY Connection details →	3h 08m	10h 10m	100%	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