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 87% on time.

Nonstops


Delta	SNA	SLC	1h 58m	87%	0.6%	1,754	Flying now
Frontier	SNA	SLC	1h 55m	86%	1.0%	101	Not flying now
Allegiant	SNA	SLC	–	0%few flights	0.0%	1	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Alaska Details →	SNA 07:00 → PDX 09:24AS 750	1h 31m Portland	PDX 10:55 → SLC 13:59AS 3112 · flown by SkyWest	5h 59m	100%	91%
Alaska Details →	SNA 10:57 → PDX 13:21AS 1405	1h 09m Portland	PDX 14:30 → SLC 17:29AS 3120 · flown by SkyWest	5h 32m	94%	90%
United Details →	SNA 06:45 → DEN 10:16UA 513	3h 24m Denver	DEN 13:40 → SLC 15:13UA 1840	7h 28m	100%	84%
Southwest Details →	SNA 07:00 → OAK 08:40WN 4935	50m Oakland	OAK 09:30 → SLC 12:15WN 4198	4h 15m	100%	83%
Delta Details →	SNA 14:05 → SEA 17:00DL 952	2h 50m Seattle	SEA 19:50 → SLC 22:55DL 1239	7h 50m	98%	80%
Alaska Details →	SNA 12:05 → SEA 14:54AS 548	1h 53m Seattle	SEA 16:47 → SLC 19:50AS 373	6h 45m	97%	77%
Alaska Details →	SNA 14:45 → SEA 17:32AS 760	1h 35m Seattle	SEA 19:07 → SLC 22:14AS 3298 · flown by SkyWest	6h 29m	97%	76%
United Details →	SNA 07:45 → IAH 13:07UA 700	1h 18m Houston	IAH 14:25 → SLC 16:40UA 6207 · flown by Mesa	7h 55m	95%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	SNA 14:05 → SEA 17:00DL 952	59m Seattle	SEA 17:59 → SLC 21:09DL 1165	6h 04m	66%	53%
American Details →	SNA 16:34 → DFW 21:49AA 2688	1h 03m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:52 → SLC 00:36 +1AA 2378	7h 02m	71%	29%
United Details →	SNA 18:20 → SFO 19:51UA 2657	1h 03m San Francisco	SFO 20:54 → SLC 23:59UA 5753 · flown by SkyWest	4h 39m	45%	29%

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

OAK · 50m · leaves 07:00 0%

DEN · 1h 20m · leaves 07:00 2%

SEA · 56m · leaves 08:05 11%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 03m · leaves 16:34 29%

SEA · 59m · leaves 14:05 34%

SFO · 1h 03m · leaves 18:20 55%

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 3861 SNA 12:00 → SJC Delta DL 1260 SJC 17:01 → SLC Connection details →	3h 36m	6h 57m	100%	94%
Southwest WN 4935 SNA 07:00 → OAK Delta DL 4134 OAK 12:33 → SLC Connection details →	3h 53m	7h 29m	100%	93%
Southwest WN 3860 SNA 09:55 → SJC Delta DL 1254 SJC 13:40 → SLC Connection details →	2h 30m	5h 41m	98%	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