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% of the time at 8 am and 14% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	SMF	STL	3h 40m	80%	0.0%	331	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach St Louis on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (St Louis is 2 h ahead of Sacramento). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	SMF 23:50 → MDW 05:45WN 3802	2h 05m Chicago	MDW 07:50 → STL 09:10 +1WN 2900	7h 20m	100%	95%
Southwest Details →	SMF 22:10 → MCO 06:15WN 3799	2h 35m Orlando	MCO 08:50 → STL 10:20 +1WN 4501	10h 10m	100%	93%
United + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	SMF 05:00 → DEN 08:22UA 1889	1h 43m Denver	DEN 10:05 → STL 13:20WN 1753	6h 20m	97%	92%
American Details →	SMF 23:10 → ORD 05:36AA 3060	1h 29m Chicago	ORD 07:05 → STL 08:31 +1AA 4104 · flown by Envoy	7h 22m	96%	90%
Southwest Details →	SMF 06:15 → LAS 07:40WN 2178	3h 30m Las Vegas	LAS 11:10 → STL 16:25WN 2369	8h 10m	100%	90%
Delta Details →	SMF 05:30 → SLC 08:11DL 1526	1h 30m Salt Lake City	SLC 09:41 → STL 13:36DL 2455	6h 06m	98%	90%
Delta Details →	SMF 22:00 → ATL 05:32DL 878	2h 11m Atlanta	ATL 07:43 → STL 08:19 +1DL 1571	8h 19m	100%	89%
Southwest Details →	SMF 05:00 → SEA 06:55WN 4920	2h 05m Seattle	SEA 09:00 → STL 14:50WN 3632	7h 50m	100%	88%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	SMF 21:40 → BWI 05:35WN 3622	50m Baltimore	BWI 06:25 → STL 07:45 +1WN 1109	8h 05m	67%	60%
Southwest Details →	SMF 17:50 → LAS 19:20WN 4116	1h 00m Las Vegas	LAS 20:20 → STL 01:55 +1WN 2371	5h 40m	56%	32%
Southwest Details →	SMF 15:00 → DEN 18:20WN 2993	55m Denver	DEN 19:15 → STL 22:28WN 1756	5h 30m	59%	22%

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 13m · leaves 05:00 1%

IAH · 59m · leaves 05:15 7%

PHX · 57m · leaves 05:10 7%

Afternoon and evening

MCI · 1h 05m · leaves 11:50 24%

DEN · 55m · leaves 15:00 41%

LAS · 1h 00m · leaves 17:50 44%

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