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 75-minute layover misses 8% of the time at 6 am and 37% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	SMF	IAD	5h 00m	96%	1.6%	365	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	SMF 18:47 → LAX 20:39UA 5628 · flown by SkyWest	51m Los Angeles	LAX 21:30 → IAD 05:36 +1UA 2632	7h 49m	99%	92%
United Details →	SMF 18:37 → DEN 21:59UA 1841	2h 00m Denver	DEN 23:59 → IAD 05:27 +1UA 1924	7h 50m	94%	87%
United Details →	SMF 23:43 → ORD 05:54UA 1148	2h 46m Chicago	ORD 08:40 → IAD 11:52 +1UA 2277	9h 09m	97%	86%
United Details →	SMF 08:50 → DEN 12:16UA 2285	1h 37m Denver	DEN 13:53 → IAD 19:22UA 347	7h 32m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	SMF 22:00 → ATL 05:32DL 878	2h 11m Atlanta	ATL 07:43 → IAD 09:26 +1DL 1324	8h 28m	100%	86%
Alaska Details →	SMF 07:23 → SAN 09:05AS 1680	1h 29m San Diego	SAN 10:34 → IAD 18:45AS 506	8h 22m	98%	83%
United Details →	SMF 11:46 → SFO 12:53UA 5248 · flown by SkyWest	3h 41m San Francisco	SFO 16:34 → IAD 00:55 +1UA 1453	10h 09m	99%	83%
Alaska Details →	SMF 06:13 → SEA 08:16AS 1409	57m Seattle	SEA 09:13 → IAD 17:11AS 737	7h 58m	98%	82%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SMF 12:57 → SEA 14:56AS 1476	1h 05m Seattle	SEA 16:01 → IAD 23:59AS 406	8h 02m	68%	54%
United Details →	SMF 14:17 → ORD 20:33UA 2766	1h 07m Chicago	ORD 21:40 → IAD 00:45 +1UA 2766	7h 28m	71%	49%
United Details →	SMF 19:03 → SFO 20:10UA 5961 · flown by SkyWest	1h 20m San Francisco	SFO 21:30 → IAD 05:53 +1UA 357	7h 50m	63%	45%

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

SEA · 57m · leaves 06:13 2%

IAH · 1h 12m · leaves 05:15 3%

SFO · 1h 16m · leaves 06:00 6%

Afternoon and evening

IAH · 1h 10m · leaves 13:15 8%

SLC · 1h 18m · leaves 13:30 9%

SFO · 1h 20m · leaves 19:03 37%

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 United UA 276 MCO 08:55 → IAD Connection details →	2h 40m	10h 04m	100%	95%
Delta DL 3755 SMF 11:26 → LAX United UA 1573 LAX 16:49 → IAD Connection details →	3h 46m	10h 29m	100%	92%
Delta DL 4075 SMF 07:52 → SEA United UA 2131 SEA 13:00 → IAD Connection details →	2h 55m	10h 14m	98%	91%

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