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

No clear winner: American’s SMF → CLT flights land within a few points of 88% on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


American	SMF	CLT	4h 49m	88%	1.9%	429	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Charlotte on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Charlotte is 3 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 → CLT 10:55 +1WN 2749	8h 05m	100%	96%
Delta Details →	SMF 22:00 → ATL 05:32DL 878	2h 06m Atlanta	ATL 07:38 → CLT 08:53 +1DL 3144	7h 49m	100%	92%
United Details →	SMF 05:00 → DEN 08:22UA 1889	1h 28m Denver	DEN 09:50 → CLT 15:12UA 1633	7h 12m	99%	89%
American Details →	SMF 06:00 → PHX 07:54AA 1867	2h 12m Phoenix	PHX 10:06 → CLT 17:30AA 1678	8h 30m	98%	87%
Delta Details →	SMF 05:30 → SLC 08:11DL 1526	2h 44m Salt Lake City	SLC 10:55 → CLT 16:52DL 2070	8h 24m	99%	85%
American Details →	SMF 23:45 → DFW 05:04AA 3314	3h 30m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:34 → CLT 12:14 +1AA 1690	9h 29m	99%	83%
United Details →	SMF 05:15 → IAH 11:01UA 2863	1h 09m Houston	IAH 12:10 → CLT 16:02UA 6197 · flown by Mesa	7h 47m	96%	81%
Southwest Details →	SMF 21:40 → BWI 05:35WN 3622	2h 40m Baltimore	BWI 08:15 → CLT 09:55 +1WN 148	9h 15m	100%	81%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	SMF 12:00 → MDW 17:55WN 3769	55m Chicago	MDW 18:50 → CLT 21:48WN 4194	6h 48m	67%	29%
American Details →	SMF 14:55 → DFW 20:28AA 2634	46m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 21:14 → CLT 00:53 +1AA 2409	6h 58m	47%	14%

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

IAH · 1h 09m · leaves 05:15 4%

DFW · 1h 08m · leaves 05:18 7%

ORD · 54m · leaves 23:10 8%

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 1h 19m · leaves 13:00 11%

MDW · 55m · leaves 12:00 33%

DFW · 46m · leaves 14:55 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.


Southwest WN 3799 SMF 22:10 → MCO Frontier F9 1446 MCO 09:38 → CLT Connection details →	3h 23m	10h 22m	100%	91%
Frontier F9 2070 SMF 18:28 → LAS American AA 2751 LAS 23:45 → CLT Connection details →	3h 46m	9h 36m	99%	89%
Southwest WN 3815 SMF 05:10 → PHX American AA 1678 PHX 10:06 → CLT Connection details →	3h 01m	9h 20m	98%	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