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 5% of the time at 8 am and 1 time in 4 at 9 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	SFO	RDU	5h 13m	90%	0.5%	887	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	SFO 21:10 → BWI 05:25WN 2683	2h 45m Baltimore	BWI 08:10 → RDU 09:30 +1WN 1067	9h 20m	98%	98%
Delta Details →	SFO 23:59 → ATL 07:42DL 690	3h 32m Atlanta	ATL 11:14 → RDU 12:44 +1DL 1488	9h 45m	99%	90%
American Details →	SFO 21:10 → PHL 05:43AA 2045	2h 37m Philadelphia	PHL 08:20 → RDU 09:51 +1AA 959	9h 41m	96%	88%
Delta Details →	SFO 22:55 → DTW 06:30DL 335	3h 45m Detroit	DTW 10:15 → RDU 11:57 +1DL 2164	10h 05m	100%	87%
United Details →	SFO 23:59 → IAH 06:04UA 505	2h 11m Houston	IAH 08:15 → RDU 12:02 +1UA 6148 · flown by Mesa	9h 03m	97%	87%
United Details →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	1h 14m Denver	DEN 09:49 → RDU 15:16UA 2269	7h 16m	98%	87%
American Details →	SFO 23:49 → CLT 08:05AA 1580	2h 59m Charlotte	CLT 11:04 → RDU 12:02 +1AA 2363	9h 13m	100%	87%
United Details →	SFO 22:35 → EWR 07:00UA 1141	3h 00m Newark	EWR 10:00 → RDU 11:52 +1UA 3631 · flown by Republic	10h 17m	98%	87%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	SFO 23:59 → ATL 07:42DL 690	1h 01m Atlanta	ATL 08:43 → RDU 10:10 +1DL 1699	7h 11m	72%	66%
Delta Details →	SFO 11:38 → ATL 19:27DL 693	51m Atlanta	ATL 20:18 → RDU 21:48DL 3244	7h 10m	74%	55%
American Details →	SFO 12:10 → JFK 21:00AA 166	1h 00m New York	JFK 22:00 → RDU 00:12 +1AA 4573 · flown by Republic	8h 59m	74%	47%

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 14m · leaves 05:00 2%

IAH · 1h 08m · leaves 05:00 3%

LAX · 1h 05m · leaves 07:00 5%

Afternoon and evening

JFK · 1h 00m · leaves 12:10 26%

LAX · 50m · leaves 20:11 53%

DEN · 1h 10m · leaves 14:35 88%

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 2117 SFO 21:17 → PIT American AA 4531 PIT 08:00 → RDU Connection details →	2h 41m	9h 09m	100%	93%
United UA 234 SFO 21:30 → DTW Delta DL 1427 DTW 07:05 → RDU Connection details →	1h 45m	8h 18m	100%	91%
United UA 649 SFO 21:13 → TPA Delta DL 1279 TPA 09:13 → RDU Connection details →	3h 35m	10h 50m	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