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 10 am and 42% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	SMF	SBA	1h 15m	90%	0.8%	366	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Delta Details →	SMF 05:30 → SLC 08:11DL 1526	2h 39m Salt Lake City	SLC 10:50 → SBA 12:04DL 3841 · flown by SkyWest	6h 34m	99%	94%
Southwest + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 05:10 → PHX 07:05WN 3815	2h 59m Phoenix	PHX 10:04 → SBA 11:46AA 3784 · flown by Envoy	6h 36m	98%	94%
Southwest Details →	SMF 06:15 → LAS 07:40WN 2178	1h 40m Las Vegas	LAS 09:20 → SBA 10:40WN 2336	4h 25m	100%	91%
United Details →	SMF 18:47 → LAX 20:39UA 5628 · flown by SkyWest	2h 05m Los Angeles	LAX 22:44 → SBA 23:44UA 4796 · flown by SkyWest	4h 57m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	SMF 09:45 → SLC 12:26DL 1367	2h 34m Salt Lake City	SLC 15:00 → SBA 16:10DL 3853 · flown by SkyWest	6h 25m	98%	85%
Delta Details →	SMF 17:00 → SLC 19:43DL 1342	1h 22m Salt Lake City	SLC 21:05 → SBA 22:12DL 3803 · flown by SkyWest	5h 12m	89%	84%
Alaska Details →	SMF 08:13 → PDX 09:47AS 2095 · flown by Horizon	1h 00m Portland	PDX 10:47 → SBA 13:05AS 2317 · flown by Horizon	4h 52m	91%	82%
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 05:55 → DEN 09:15WN 3773	2h 11m Denver	DEN 11:26 → SBA 13:02UA 671	7h 07m	100%	82%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	SMF 19:03 → SFO 20:10UA 5961 · flown by SkyWest	1h 13m San Francisco	SFO 21:23 → SBA 22:45UA 2866	3h 42m	58%	43%
United Details →	SMF 11:46 → SFO 12:53UA 5248 · flown by SkyWest	57m San Francisco	SFO 13:50 → SBA 15:17UA 5464 · flown by SkyWest	3h 31m	53%	36%
Alaska Details →	SMF 10:13 → SAN 11:50AS 2101 · flown by Horizon	59m San Diego	SAN 12:49 → SBA 14:02AS 2177 · flown by Horizon	3h 49m	55%	33%

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 · 1h 00m · leaves 08:13 9%

LAS · 50m · leaves 07:05 10%

SAN · 59m · leaves 10:13 45%

Afternoon and evening

SFO · 1h 13m · leaves 19:03 42%

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