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

No clear winner: Southwest’s SMF → BUR flights land within a few points of 86% on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops


Southwest	SMF	BUR	1h 15m	86%	1.8%	2,606	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Southwest Details →	SMF 05:25 → LAS 06:50WN 3784	55m Las Vegas	LAS 07:45 → BUR 09:00WN 3327	3h 35m	96%	96%
Southwest Details →	SMF 06:15 → LAS 07:40WN 2178	2h 00m Las Vegas	LAS 09:40 → BUR 10:55WN 2198	4h 40m	100%	94%
Delta Details →	SMF 09:45 → SLC 12:26DL 1367	2h 39m Salt Lake City	SLC 15:05 → BUR 16:14DL 3693 · flown by SkyWest	6h 29m	98%	91%
Southwest Details →	SMF 05:10 → PHX 07:05WN 3815	1h 10m Phoenix	PHX 08:15 → BUR 09:40WN 3243	4h 30m	94%	87%
Alaska Details →	SMF 06:13 → SEA 08:16AS 1409	1h 27m Seattle	SEA 09:43 → BUR 12:23AS 426	6h 10m	100%	84%
Alaska Details →	SMF 11:46 → PDX 13:18AS 621	1h 37m Portland	PDX 14:55 → BUR 17:13AS 1386	5h 27m	100%	84%
Southwest Details →	SMF 07:45 → PHX 09:35WN 106	2h 47m Phoenix	PHX 12:22 → BUR 13:42WN 1493	5h 57m	100%	84%
American Details →	SMF 09:52 → PHX 11:50AA 4099 · flown by Envoy	2h 51m Phoenix	PHX 14:41 → BUR 16:11AA 6415 · flown by SkyWest	6h 19m	97%	82%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	SMF 10:50 → LAS 12:20WN 1285	50m Las Vegas	LAS 13:10 → BUR 14:25WN 2203	3h 35m	72%	55%
United Details →	SMF 11:46 → SFO 12:53UA 5248 · flown by SkyWest	57m San Francisco	SFO 13:50 → BUR 15:17UA 626	3h 31m	53%	36%
Southwest Details →	SMF 16:00 → DEN 19:20WN 1001	1h 05m Denver	DEN 20:25 → BUR 21:50WN 1497	5h 50m	69%	31%

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

LAS · 55m · leaves 05:25 4%

PHX · 1h 10m · leaves 05:10 6%

PDX · 1h 02m · leaves 08:13 8%

Afternoon and evening

SLC · 1h 07m · leaves 17:00 14%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 16:00 31%

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.


American AA 1867 SMF 06:00 → PHX Southwest WN 4549 PHX 09:50 → BUR Connection details →	1h 56m	5h 15m	96%	90%
Southwest WN 949 SMF 10:12 → PDX Alaska AS 1386 PDX 14:55 → BUR Connection details →	3h 13m	7h 01m	100%	86%
Southwest WN 3773 SMF 05:55 → DEN United UA 2154 DEN 11:15 → BUR Connection details →	2h 00m	6h 53m	100%	85%

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