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 1 time in 10 at 11 am and barely half the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	SMF	EWR	5h 12m	79%	2.1%	283	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 22:10 → MCO 06:15WN 3799	2h 55m Orlando	MCO 09:10 → EWR 11:53 +1UA 1227	10h 43m	100%	89%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 06:15 → LAS 07:40WN 2178	2h 16m Las Vegas	LAS 09:56 → EWR 18:00UA 1784	8h 45m	100%	87%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 16:05 → SNA 17:35WN 3833	3h 40m Santa Ana	SNA 21:15 → EWR 05:33 +1UA 2186	10h 28m	100%	87%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 17:40 → DEN 21:00WN 670	2h 59m Denver	DEN 23:59 → EWR 05:40 +1UA 1745	9h 00m	96%	87%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 09:30 → SAN 11:00WN 3818	3h 24m San Diego	SAN 14:24 → EWR 22:59UA 1827	10h 29m	100%	86%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 10:50 → LAS 12:20WN 1285	3h 50m Las Vegas	LAS 16:10 → EWR 00:19 +1UA 1386	10h 29m	100%	85%
Delta + Alaskatwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 17:27 → SEA 19:39DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	3h 01m Seattle	SEA 22:40 → EWR 06:59 +1AS 314	10h 32m	98%	84%
Delta Details →	SMF 17:00 → SLC 19:43DL 1342	3h 55m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:38 → EWR 06:00 +1DL 2038	9h 55m	99%	83%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SMF 19:03 → SFO 20:10UA 5961 · flown by SkyWest	1h 05m San Francisco	SFO 21:15 → EWR 05:51 +1UA 698	7h 48m	49%	39%
United Details →	SMF 14:17 → ORD 20:33UA 2766	57m Chicago	ORD 21:30 → EWR 00:53 +1UA 1209	7h 36m	54%	35%
United Details →	SMF 11:46 → SFO 12:53UA 5248 · flown by SkyWest	52m San Francisco	SFO 13:45 → EWR 22:26UA 366	7h 40m	47%	25%

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

ORD · 1h 08m · leaves 23:10 5%

IAH · 59m · leaves 05:15 7%

DFW · 1h 00m · leaves 05:18 10%

Afternoon and evening

SFO · 1h 05m · leaves 19:03 51%

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.

The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →

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