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 one-hour layover misses 1 time in 10 at 10 am and 23% of the time at 3 pm.

Nonstops


United	SMF	SFO	1h 04m	65%	1.7%	1,356	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


American Details →	SMF 19:21 → LAX 21:01AA 6346 · flown by SkyWest	1h 31m Los Angeles	LAX 22:32 → SFO 23:59AA 6510 · flown by SkyWest	4h 38m	91%	74%
United Details →	SMF 08:50 → DEN 12:16UA 2285	1h 09m Denver	DEN 13:25 → SFO 15:09UA 1812	6h 19m	98%	74%
Alaska Details →	SMF 11:46 → PDX 13:18AS 621	1h 31m Portland	PDX 14:49 → SFO 16:40AS 236	4h 54m	100%	72%
United Details →	SMF 10:50 → DEN 14:17UA 1023	1h 30m Denver	DEN 15:47 → SFO 17:30UA 2633	6h 40m	97%	70%
Delta Details →	SMF 17:27 → SEA 19:39DL 4153 · flown by SkyWest	2h 06m Seattle	SEA 21:45 → SFO 00:06 +1DL 2635	6h 39m	98%	69%
Alaska Details →	SMF 08:36 → SAN 10:20AS 3015 · flown by SkyWest	3h 10m San Diego	SAN 13:30 → SFO 15:14AS 3352 · flown by SkyWest	6h 38m	96%	69%
Alaska Details →	SMF 12:57 → SEA 14:56AS 1476	1h 40m Seattle	SEA 16:36 → SFO 18:48AS 1385	5h 51m	95%	67%
Delta Details →	SMF 14:15 → LAX 15:52DL 3812 · flown by SkyWest	1h 43m Los Angeles	LAX 17:35 → SFO 18:55DL 1559	4h 41m	97%	66%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	SMF 19:17 → PDX 20:50AS 2335 · flown by Horizon	55m Portland	PDX 21:45 → SFO 23:36AS 2112 · flown by Horizon	4h 19m	59%	37%
Alaska Details →	SMF 07:23 → SAN 09:05AS 1680	59m San Diego	SAN 10:04 → SFO 11:49AS 3205 · flown by SkyWest	4h 26m	75%	20%
Southwest Details →	SMF 16:40 → SAN 18:10WN 4292	50m San Diego	SAN 19:00 → SFO 20:42WN 3534	4h 02m	21%	2%

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 · 1h 08m · leaves 05:25 4%

PDX · 55m · leaves 08:13 11%

LAX · 1h 02m · leaves 09:21 16%

Afternoon and evening

SAN · 1h 00m · leaves 13:30 23%

PHX · 1h 05m · leaves 19:50 33%

PDX · 55m · leaves 19:17 41%

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 302 SMF 11:00 → GEG Alaska AS 3070 GEG 16:21 → SFO Connection details →	3h 31m	7h 45m	100%	86%
Southwest WN 4844 SMF 12:15 → LAX United UA 233 LAX 17:10 → SFO Connection details →	3h 25m	6h 23m	100%	80%
United UA 5628 SMF 18:47 → LAX American AA 6510 LAX 22:32 → SFO Connection details →	1h 53m	5h 12m	99%	80%

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