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

No clear winner: Southwest’s SNA → SMF flights land within a few points of 87% on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops


Southwest	SNA	SMF	1h 30m	87%	1.0%	2,311	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Alaska Details →	SNA 07:00 → PDX 09:24AS 750	1h 36m Portland	PDX 11:00 → SMF 12:33AS 2399 · flown by Horizon	5h 33m	100%	89%
Southwest Details →	SNA 07:45 → LAS 09:05WN 4296	2h 20m Las Vegas	LAS 11:25 → SMF 13:00WN 4532	5h 15m	100%	88%
Southwest Details →	SNA 07:05 → PHX 08:30WN 3887	1h 05m Phoenix	PHX 09:35 → SMF 11:30WN 781	4h 25m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	SNA 17:03 → SLC 19:59DL 1277	3h 05m Salt Lake City	SLC 23:04 → SMF 23:44DL 1582	6h 45m	99%	87%
United Details →	SNA 10:20 → DEN 13:43UA 2843	2h 20m Denver	DEN 16:03 → SMF 17:41UA 1208	7h 21m	100%	82%
Alaska Details →	SNA 10:57 → PDX 13:21AS 1405	1h 11m Portland	PDX 14:32 → SMF 16:06AS 2405 · flown by Horizon	5h 09m	94%	82%
American Details →	SNA 09:49 → PHX 11:12AA 2660	2h 23m Phoenix	PHX 13:35 → SMF 15:43AA 6354 · flown by SkyWest	5h 54m	97%	82%
Delta Details →	SNA 07:15 → SLC 10:15DL 1185	1h 20m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:35 → SMF 12:16DL 1423	5h 06m	93%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	SNA 13:46 → SLC 16:40DL 1159	55m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:35 → SMF 18:16DL 2585	4h 30m	70%	56%
Southwest Details →	SNA 19:00 → LAS 20:10WN 2477	1h 00m Las Vegas	LAS 21:10 → SMF 22:45WN 2362	3h 40m	67%	33%
United Details →	SNA 14:47 → SFO 16:18UA 2823	50m San Francisco	SFO 17:08 → SMF 18:16UA 5796 · flown by SkyWest	3h 29m	24%	18%

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%

SLC · 1h 20m · leaves 07:15 7%

SEA · 1h 00m · leaves 08:05 8%

Afternoon and evening

SLC · 55m · leaves 13:46 30%

LAS · 1h 00m · leaves 19:00 33%

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.


Alaska AS 548 SNA 12:05 → SEA Delta DL 4043 SEA 17:00 → SMF Connection details →	2h 06m	6h 56m	94%	83%
Alaska AS 750 SNA 07:00 → PDX Southwest WN 3212 PDX 12:15 → SMF Connection details →	2h 51m	6h 45m	100%	80%
Southwest WN 3887 SNA 07:05 → PHX American AA 2630 PHX 10:04 → SMF Connection details →	1h 34m	4h 59m	100%	76%

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