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 85% on time.

Nonstops


Alaska	SMF	PDX	1h 39m	88%	1.3%	1,326	Flying now
Southwest	SMF	PDX	1h 30m	81%	0.1%	1,212	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Alaska Details →	SMF 06:13 → SEA 08:16AS 1409	1h 58m Seattle	SEA 10:14 → PDX 11:21AS 3090 · flown by SkyWest	5h 08m	100%	96%
United Details →	SMF 08:50 → DEN 12:16UA 2285	1h 11m Denver	DEN 13:27 → PDX 15:13UA 2455	6h 23m	98%	88%
United Details →	SMF 06:00 → SFO 06:54UA 1954	1h 28m San Francisco	SFO 08:22 → PDX 10:20UA 2265	4h 20m	96%	88%
Delta Details →	SMF 06:00 → LAX 07:40DL 3969 · flown by SkyWest	2h 20m Los Angeles	LAX 10:00 → PDX 12:25DL 2766	6h 25m	98%	87%
Alaska Details →	SMF 07:23 → SAN 09:05AS 1680	1h 59m San Diego	SAN 11:04 → PDX 13:43AS 576	6h 20m	100%	86%
Delta Details →	SMF 05:30 → SLC 08:11DL 1526	3h 04m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:15 → PDX 12:10DL 1209	6h 40m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	SMF 17:00 → SLC 19:43DL 1342	3h 07m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:50 → PDX 23:44DL 1373	6h 45m	98%	86%
Delta Details →	SMF 09:45 → SLC 12:26DL 1367	2h 58m Salt Lake City	SLC 15:24 → PDX 16:19DL 1244	6h 34m	98%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SMF 12:57 → SEA 14:56AS 1476	59m Seattle	SEA 15:55 → PDX 16:55AS 686	3h 58m	65%	48%
Southwest Details →	SMF 12:40 → SAN 14:10WN 2537	50m San Diego	SAN 15:00 → PDX 17:25WN 4908	4h 45m	31%	11%
Southwest Details →	SMF 15:00 → DEN 18:20WN 2993	1h 05m Denver	DEN 19:25 → PDX 21:00WN 1670	6h 00m	68%	3%

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 · 50m · leaves 07:05 10%

Afternoon and evening

BOI · 48m · leaves 13:10 20%

SEA · 47m · leaves 20:34 31%

DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 15:00 32%

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 4920 SMF 05:00 → SEA Alaska AS 3090 SEA 10:14 → PDX Connection details →	3h 19m	6h 21m	100%	96%
Southwest WN 3827 SMF 08:05 → SLC Alaska AS 3117 SLC 12:46 → PDX Connection details →	2h 06m	5h 44m	100%	92%
United UA 5220 SMF 10:13 → LAX Alaska AS 1315 LAX 14:27 → PDX Connection details →	2h 22m	6h 34m	100%	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