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

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 86% on time.

Nonstops


Delta	SMF	LAX	1h 39m	92%	0.1%	2,042	Flying now
United	SMF	LAX	1h 43m	91%	0.4%	827	Flying now
American	SMF	LAX	1h 39m	85%	1.0%	917	Flying now
Southwest	SMF	LAX	1h 30m	78%	0.3%	1,631	Flying now
Frontier	SMF	LAX	1h 35m	74%	2.2%	226	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Alaska Details →	SMF 13:10 → BOI 15:35AS 2157 · flown by Horizon	3h 16m Boise	BOI 18:51 → LAX 20:10AS 2180 · flown by Horizon	7h 00m	100%	98%
Delta Details →	SMF 17:00 → SLC 19:43DL 1342	3h 02m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:45 → LAX 23:46DL 2014	6h 46m	98%	92%
United Details →	SMF 05:00 → DEN 08:22UA 1889	1h 40m Denver	DEN 10:02 → LAX 11:34UA 405	6h 34m	99%	90%
Delta Details →	SMF 05:30 → SLC 08:11DL 1526	1h 29m Salt Lake City	SLC 09:40 → LAX 10:42DL 1095	5h 12m	98%	90%
United Details →	SMF 08:50 → DEN 12:16UA 2285	1h 10m Denver	DEN 13:26 → LAX 14:57UA 774	6h 07m	98%	88%
Alaska Details →	SMF 08:03 → SEA 10:09AS 795	2h 29m Seattle	SEA 12:38 → LAX 15:25AS 502	7h 22m	96%	85%
Delta Details →	SMF 07:52 → SEA 10:05DL 4075 · flown by SkyWest	2h 30m Seattle	SEA 12:35 → LAX 15:26DL 2914	7h 34m	99%	84%
Alaska Details →	SMF 11:46 → PDX 13:18AS 621	1h 21m Portland	PDX 14:39 → LAX 17:06AS 713	5h 20m	100%	84%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	SMF 17:27 → SEA 19:39DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	46m Seattle	SEA 20:25 → LAX 23:15DL 2854	5h 48m	72%	56%
American Details →	SMF 23:45 → DFW 05:04AA 3314	56m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 06:00 → LAX 07:13 +1AA 2005	7h 28m	71%	56%
United Details →	SMF 11:46 → SFO 12:53UA 5248 · flown by SkyWest	1h 02m San Francisco	SFO 13:55 → LAX 15:35UA 2610	3h 49m	59%	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

PDX · 58m · leaves 08:13 9%

DFW · 54m · leaves 05:18 14%

PHX · 50m · leaves 05:10 14%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 55m · leaves 11:02 27%

SEA · 46m · leaves 17:27 28%

PHX · 1h 00m · leaves 19:50 43%

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 3816 SMF 13:55 → PHX United UA 4722 PHX 18:54 → LAX Connection details →	2h 59m	6h 36m	100%	97%
Southwest WN 2178 SMF 06:15 → LAS American AA 6425 LAS 10:04 → LAX Connection details →	2h 24m	5h 09m	100%	93%
Delta DL 1526 SMF 05:30 → SLC Southwest WN 3746 SLC 11:20 → LAX Connection details →	3h 09m	6h 45m	99%	92%

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