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 2% of the time at 8 am and 18% of the time at 10 pm.

Nonstops


United	SFO	PHL	5h 27m	87%	0.6%	726	Flying now
American	SFO	PHL	5h 31m	85%	1.8%	1,318	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	SFO 23:40 → MDW 05:55WN 3649	3h 05m Chicago	MDW 09:00 → PHL 11:55 +1WN 4901	9h 15m	100%	94%
Delta Details →	SFO 22:55 → DTW 06:30DL 335	3h 40m Detroit	DTW 10:10 → PHL 11:46 +1DL 2331	9h 54m	100%	86%
Alaska Details →	SFO 17:38 → SEA 19:47AS 758	2h 15m Seattle	SEA 22:02 → PHL 06:13 +1AS 522	9h 35m	97%	85%
United Details →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	1h 00m Denver	DEN 09:35 → PHL 15:12UA 1575	7h 12m	96%	85%
Delta Details →	SFO 05:50 → SLC 08:42DL 1331	2h 38m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:20 → PHL 17:39DL 2022	8h 50m	99%	84%
Delta Details →	SFO 23:59 → ATL 07:42DL 690	3h 39m Atlanta	ATL 11:21 → PHL 13:24 +1DL 2279	10h 27m	99%	84%
United Details →	SFO 16:10 → DEN 20:01UA 1430	3h 58m Denver	DEN 23:59 → PHL 05:31 +1UA 1214	10h 21m	100%	83%
United Details →	SFO 23:59 → IAH 06:04UA 505	1h 27m Houston	IAH 07:31 → PHL 11:58 +1UA 2642	8h 59m	93%	82%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	SFO 23:08 → ORD 05:29AA 2554	1h 07m Chicago	ORD 06:36 → PHL 09:46 +1AA 2115	7h 39m	74%	53%
American Details →	SFO 18:55 → PHX 21:00AA 2544	1h 02m Phoenix	PHX 22:02 → PHL 05:35 +1AA 1188	7h 40m	59%	43%
American Details →	SFO 11:24 → DFW 17:14AA 1849	1h 21m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:35 → PHL 22:57AA 3242	8h 33m	67%	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

SEA · 1h 14m · leaves 05:55 2%

DEN · 1h 00m · leaves 05:00 4%

DFW · 59m · leaves 05:29 7%

Afternoon and evening

PHX · 1h 02m · leaves 18:55 41%

LAX · 57m · leaves 20:11 44%

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 2097 SFO 23:08 → CLE American AA 5847 CLE 10:52 → PHL Connection details →	3h 53m	10h 20m	98%	88%
United UA 2117 SFO 21:17 → PIT American AA 2335 PIT 08:00 → PHL Connection details →	2h 41m	9h 12m	100%	87%
United UA 1722 SFO 23:59 → DFW American AA 2128 DFW 08:40 → PHL Connection details →	2h 55m	10h 03m	100%	87%

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