Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 87% on time.

Nonstops


Southwest	SJC	SNA	1h 20m	87%	0.8%	2,677	Flying now
Alaska	SJC	SNA	1h 43m	72%	0.0%	53	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 →	SJC 09:46 → PDX 11:31AS 2256 · flown by Horizon	3h 17m Portland	PDX 14:48 → SNA 17:19AS 264	7h 33m	98%	88%
Alaska Details →	SJC 08:00 → PDX 09:44AS 679	54m Portland	PDX 10:38 → SNA 13:15AS 588	5h 15m	98%	87%
Southwest Details →	SJC 06:25 → PHX 08:20WN 3186	1h 35m Phoenix	PHX 09:55 → SNA 11:15WN 3001	4h 50m	100%	85%
United Details →	SJC 08:45 → DEN 12:23UA 586	1h 02m Denver	DEN 13:25 → SNA 14:56UA 1707	6h 11m	97%	84%
Alaska Details →	SJC 10:19 → SEA 12:30AS 1311	1h 19m Seattle	SEA 13:49 → SNA 16:41AS 773	6h 22m	98%	83%
Southwest Details →	SJC 06:00 → LAS 07:35WN 2280	1h 40m Las Vegas	LAS 09:15 → SNA 10:25WN 187	4h 25m	100%	82%
Delta Details →	SJC 09:45 → SLC 12:48DL 4026 · flown by SkyWest	2h 27m Salt Lake City	SLC 15:15 → SNA 16:11DL 1277	6h 26m	98%	81%
Delta Details →	SJC 17:01 → SLC 19:57DL 1260	1h 08m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → SNA 22:05DL 1304	5h 04m	95%	81%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SJC 12:03 → PDX 13:48AS 2188 · flown by Horizon	1h 00m Portland	PDX 14:48 → SNA 17:19AS 264	5h 16m	67%	60%
Alaska Details →	SJC 14:16 → SEA 16:27AS 521	53m Seattle	SEA 17:20 → SNA 20:08AS 472	5h 52m	62%	53%
United Details →	SJC 14:32 → DEN 18:10UA 719	1h 00m Denver	DEN 19:10 → SNA 20:40UA 1704	6h 08m	63%	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

PDX · 54m · leaves 08:00 2%

Afternoon and evening

SLC · 52m · leaves 13:40 10%

SEA · 53m · leaves 14:16 38%

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.


Southwest WN 2433 SJC 15:00 → PDX Alaska AS 518 PDX 19:59 → SNA Connection details →	3h 19m	7h 30m	100%	96%
Southwest WN 3693 SJC 06:30 → PDX Alaska AS 588 PDX 10:38 → SNA Connection details →	2h 20m	6h 45m	100%	90%
Southwest WN 1277 SJC 07:40 → LAS Frontier F9 1699 LAS 11:17 → SNA Connection details →	2h 07m	4h 54m	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