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 84% on time.

Nonstops


United	SNA	DEN	2h 21m	88%	0.4%	1,869	Flying now
Frontier	SNA	DEN	2h 29m	86%	0.4%	280	Flying now
Southwest	SNA	DEN	2h 15m	79%	0.4%	1,537	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Denver on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Denver is 1 h ahead of Santa Ana). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	SNA 06:45 → SMF 08:25WN 2669	1h 50m Sacramento	SMF 10:15 → DEN 13:35WN 3774	5h 50m	98%	94%
United Details →	SNA 15:05 → IAH 20:27UA 643	1h 43m Houston	IAH 22:10 → DEN 23:57UA 1066	7h 52m	94%	84%
United Details →	SNA 14:47 → SFO 16:18UA 2823	2h 38m San Francisco	SFO 18:56 → DEN 22:44UA 2436	6h 57m	95%	84%
United Details →	SNA 16:12 → SFO 17:50UA 5351 · flown by SkyWest	2h 06m San Francisco	SFO 19:56 → DEN 23:43UA 2019	6h 31m	97%	83%
Delta Details →	SNA 07:15 → SLC 10:15DL 1185	3h 05m Salt Lake City	SLC 13:20 → DEN 14:56DL 1623	6h 41m	97%	82%
Southwest Details →	SNA 07:05 → PHX 08:30WN 3887	2h 30m Phoenix	PHX 11:00 → DEN 13:45WN 3262	5h 40m	100%	81%
Alaska Details →	SNA 06:47 → SEA 09:42AS 1325	2h 02m Seattle	SEA 11:44 → DEN 15:38AS 535	7h 51m	100%	76%
Southwest Details →	SNA 14:05 → SMF 15:40WN 3870	2h 00m Sacramento	SMF 17:40 → DEN 21:00WN 670	5h 55m	100%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	SNA 08:00 → MSP 13:41DL 2185	46m Minneapolis	MSP 14:27 → DEN 15:38DL 1025	6h 38m	74%	58%
United Details →	SNA 09:45 → SFO 11:21UA 5562 · flown by SkyWest	1h 22m San Francisco	SFO 12:43 → DEN 16:35UA 540	5h 50m	59%	45%
United Details →	SNA 18:20 → SFO 19:51UA 2657	1h 09m San Francisco	SFO 21:00 → DEN 00:47 +1UA 301	5h 27m	53%	44%

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

SJC · 1h 05m · leaves 08:00 2%

SEA · 49m · leaves 08:05 16%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 56m · leaves 16:34 37%

SFO · 1h 09m · leaves 18:20 47%

PHX · 55m · leaves 17:15 56%

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 2669 SNA 06:45 → SMF United UA 1023 SMF 10:50 → DEN Connection details →	2h 25m	6h 32m	98%	90%
Alaska AS 712 SNA 14:05 → PDX United UA 2334 PDX 18:50 → DEN Connection details →	2h 21m	7h 24m	99%	87%
Delta DL 1185 SNA 07:15 → SLC United UA 4720 SLC 13:05 → DEN Connection details →	2h 50m	6h 36m	95%	87%

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