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 STL → SMF flights land within a few points of 4 in 5 on time whatever the hour.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Southwest	STL	SMF	4h 15m	80%	0.0%	331	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 (Sacramento is 2 h behind St Louis). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Delta Details →	STL 06:21 → MSP 07:57DL 1597	2h 26m Minneapolis	MSP 10:23 → SMF 12:11DL 1701	7h 50m	98%	91%
United Details →	STL 05:10 → DEN 06:32UA 362	1h 28m Denver	DEN 08:00 → SMF 09:35UA 2149	6h 25m	97%	90%
United Details →	STL 06:14 → IAH 08:31UA 6283 · flown by Mesa	1h 29m Houston	IAH 10:00 → SMF 12:07UA 2773	7h 53m	95%	90%
Southwest Details →	STL 06:00 → LAS 07:25WN 3934	2h 10m Las Vegas	LAS 09:35 → SMF 11:10WN 1122	7h 10m	98%	90%
Southwest Details →	STL 08:10 → LAX 10:05WN 3937	2h 10m Los Angeles	LAX 12:15 → SMF 13:35WN 265	7h 25m	100%	88%
Southwest Details →	STL 05:45 → PHX 06:55WN 3967	2h 40m Phoenix	PHX 09:35 → SMF 11:30WN 781	7h 45m	100%	88%
United Details →	STL 09:06 → DEN 10:30UA 2459	3h 05m Denver	DEN 13:35 → SMF 15:10UA 662	8h 04m	99%	82%
Delta Details →	STL 08:00 → SLC 10:12DL 2363	1h 23m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:35 → SMF 12:16DL 1423	6h 21m	96%	82%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	STL 15:57 → MSP 17:40DL 4167 · flown by SkyWest	1h 05m Minneapolis	MSP 18:45 → SMF 20:37DL 574	6h 40m	69%	55%
American Details →	STL 09:43 → DFW 11:38AA 1410	46m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 12:24 → SMF 14:02AA 2634	6h 19m	69%	48%
United Details →	STL 16:48 → DEN 18:23UA 1483	1h 14m Denver	DEN 19:37 → SMF 21:12UA 2132	6h 24m	61%	46%

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

ORD · 1h 07m · leaves 09:08 5%

LAS · 1h 10m · leaves 06:00 6%

DFW · 1h 01m · leaves 05:30 7%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 1h 10m · leaves 19:22 52%

SFO · 1h 11m · leaves 19:23 60%

DAL · 48m · leaves 18:42 65%

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.


American AA 6293 STL 06:37 → LAX Delta DL 3812 LAX 12:05 → SMF Connection details →	3h 19m	8h 56m	99%	87%
Alaska AS 618 STL 14:50 → SEA Delta DL 4131 SEA 20:25 → SMF Connection details →	3h 08m	9h 38m	95%	85%
Southwest WN 3910 STL 08:42 → DEN United UA 662 DEN 13:35 → SMF Connection details →	3h 33m	8h 28m	100%	83%

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