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 86% on time.

Nonstops


Delta	SLC	SMF	1h 46m	87%	1.1%	1,583	Flying now
Southwest	SLC	SMF	1h 45m	82%	0.3%	577	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Sacramento on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Sacramento is 1 h behind Salt Lake City). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	SLC 06:25 → LAS 06:50WN 4205	1h 45m Las Vegas	LAS 08:35 → SMF 10:05WN 860	4h 40m	100%	94%
Alaska Details →	SLC 08:20 → PDX 09:26AS 3004 · flown by SkyWest	1h 34m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	5h 13m	100%	91%
United Details →	SLC 05:15 → DEN 06:54UA 5683 · flown by SkyWest	1h 06m Denver	DEN 08:00 → SMF 09:35UA 2149	5h 20m	96%	90%
Southwest Details →	SLC 08:20 → LGB 09:30WN 543	4h 00m Long Beach	LGB 13:30 → SMF 14:55WN 2505	7h 35m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	SLC 07:49 → LAX 08:50DL 1087	3h 15m Los Angeles	LAX 12:05 → SMF 13:32DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	6h 44m	99%	88%
Delta Details →	SLC 15:40 → LAX 16:36DL 841	2h 15m Los Angeles	LAX 18:51 → SMF 20:25DL 3759 · flown by SkyWest	5h 45m	98%	87%
Delta Details →	SLC 13:20 → SEA 14:40DL 2921	2h 20m Seattle	SEA 17:00 → SMF 19:01DL 4043 · flown by SkyWest	6h 41m	98%	86%
Southwest Details →	SLC 06:15 → PHX 06:55WN 3751	2h 40m Phoenix	PHX 09:35 → SMF 11:30WN 781	6h 15m	98%	86%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	SLC 12:55 → SAN 13:50WN 3754	1h 10m San Diego	SAN 15:00 → SMF 16:40WN 4552	4h 45m	64%	38%
United Details →	SLC 20:08 → SFO 21:10UA 2097	1h 44m San Francisco	SFO 22:54 → SMF 23:59UA 1302	4h 51m	45%	26%
Southwest Details →	SLC 16:45 → DEN 18:15WN 3740	1h 10m Denver	DEN 19:25 → SMF 20:55WN 136	5h 10m	47%	4%

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 05m · leaves 07:45 3%

SEA · 1h 05m · leaves 07:50 6%

SFO · 58m · leaves 06:05 10%

Afternoon and evening

SAN · 1h 10m · leaves 14:39 10%

PHX · 1h 11m · leaves 18:50 38%

DEN · 1h 10m · leaves 16:45 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.


Alaska AS 1444 SLC 06:23 → SEA Delta DL 4125 SEA 10:10 → SMF Connection details →	2h 35m	6h 55m	100%	91%
Delta DL 829 SLC 11:30 → LAX United UA 5858 LAX 16:30 → SMF Connection details →	4h 00m	7h 36m	99%	91%
Alaska AS 734 SLC 16:00 → SEA Delta DL 4131 SEA 20:25 → SMF Connection details →	3h 09m	7h 28m	99%	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