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 70-minute layover misses 3% of the time at 11 am and 1 time in 3 at 8 pm.

Nonstops


United	SFO	SNA	1h 43m	83%	0.6%	2,172	Flying now
Alaska	SFO	SNA	1h 39m	78%	2.0%	2,393	Flying now
Frontier	SFO	SNA	1h 48m	69%	0.7%	151	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Santa Ana on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Alaska Details →	SFO 15:02 → PDX 16:47AS 1302	3h 12m Portland	PDX 19:59 → SNA 22:30AS 518	7h 28m	98%	93%
United Details →	SFO 05:00 → DEN 08:35UA 1479	2h 45m Denver	DEN 11:20 → SNA 12:51UA 1320	7h 51m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	SFO 13:38 → SEA 15:59DL 1412	3h 36m Seattle	SEA 19:35 → SNA 22:30DL 3932 · flown by SkyWest	8h 52m	98%	86%
Alaska Details →	SFO 07:20 → PDX 09:02AS 1410	1h 36m Portland	PDX 10:38 → SNA 13:15AS 588	5h 55m	97%	86%
Alaska Details →	SFO 12:27 → SEA 14:35AS 630	2h 45m Seattle	SEA 17:20 → SNA 20:08AS 472	7h 41m	98%	85%
Southwest Details →	SFO 05:30 → PHX 07:30WN 4145	2h 25m Phoenix	PHX 09:55 → SNA 11:15WN 3001	5h 45m	100%	85%
Alaska Details →	SFO 06:03 → SEA 08:13AS 620	2h 53m Seattle	SEA 11:06 → SNA 13:55AS 1357	7h 52m	99%	84%
Southwest Details →	SFO 05:00 → LAS 06:35WN 4231	2h 40m Las Vegas	LAS 09:15 → SNA 10:25WN 187	5h 25m	100%	84%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	SFO 17:07 → SLC 20:02DL 1088	1h 03m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → SNA 22:05DL 1304	4h 58m	74%	62%
United Details →	SFO 14:20 → DEN 18:11UA 1596	59m Denver	DEN 19:10 → SNA 20:40UA 1704	6h 20m	70%	53%
American Details →	SFO 12:36 → DFW 18:29AA 3258	46m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 19:15 → SNA 20:22AA 806	7h 46m	53%	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

DFW · 1h 08m · leaves 05:29 3%

Afternoon and evening

AUS · 1h 10m · leaves 10:10 32%

DFW · 46m · leaves 12:36 47%

SEA · 49m · leaves 14:20 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 2851 SFO 14:55 → PDX Alaska AS 518 PDX 19:59 → SNA Connection details →	3h 12m	7h 35m	96%	92%
United UA 1301 SFO 10:15 → PDX Alaska AS 264 PDX 14:48 → SNA Connection details →	2h 40m	7h 04m	100%	91%
Alaska AS 790 SFO 14:20 → SEA Delta DL 3932 SEA 19:35 → SNA Connection details →	3h 04m	8h 10m	98%	88%

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