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

No nonstop, and no clear pattern: the best connection reaches New York on time 7 times in 10.

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach New York on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (New York is 3 h ahead of Santa Ana). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.
Southwest + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails → SNA 07:00 → DEN 10:25WN 4011 3h 34m Denver DEN 13:59 → LGA 19:53UA 1579 9h 53m 100% 70%
UnitedDetails → SNA 06:45 → DEN 10:16UA 513 1h 14m Denver DEN 11:30 → LGA 17:24UA 598 7h 39m 97% 68%
DeltaDetails → SNA 12:50 → MSP 18:30DL 2061 1h 29m Minneapolis MSP 19:59 → LGA 23:43DL 2733 7h 53m 92% 67%
Southwest + Deltatwo ticketsDetails → SNA 10:55 → DEN 14:10WN 187 3h 10m Denver DEN 17:20 → LGA 23:13DL 716 9h 18m 100% 66%
DeltaDetails → SNA 08:00 → MSP 13:41DL 2185 1h 49m Minneapolis MSP 15:30 → LGA 19:18DL 2732 8h 17m 94% 66%
UnitedDetails → SNA 10:20 → DEN 13:43UA 2843 2h 17m Denver DEN 16:00 → LGA 21:54UA 2168 8h 34m 100% 66%
UnitedDetails → SNA 07:45 → IAH 13:07UA 700 1h 13m Houston IAH 14:20 → LGA 19:04UA 2249 8h 19m 95% 65%
DeltaDetails → SNA 11:44 → DTW 19:06DL 1856 2h 44m Detroit DTW 21:50 → LGA 23:41DL 2603 8h 57m 91% 62%
Tight connection: often missed
AmericanDetails → SNA 12:55 → DFW 18:14AA 2669 59m Dallas-Fort Worth DFW 19:13 → LGA 23:45AA 2708 7h 50m 58% 27%
SouthwestDetails → SNA 10:55 → DEN 14:10WN 187 55m Denver DEN 15:05 → LGA 20:50WN 4233 6h 55m 65% 19%

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
DEN · 1h 14m · leaves 06:45 3%
Afternoon and evening
ORD · 1h 07m · leaves 10:37 16%
DEN · 1h 05m · leaves 13:08 20%
DFW · 59m · leaves 12:55 42%

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.

The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →

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