Best time to fly out of Denver (DEN)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Denver: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.9% of the time, against 63.3% in the 6–8pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 87 | 87 | 91 | 91 | 88 | 87 | 88 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 85 | 87 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 86 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 83 | 83 | 81 | 79 | 80 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 77 | 80 | 81 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 69 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 68 | 72 | 69 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 72 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 71 | 67 |
| 6–8pm | 62 | 68 | 67 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 60 |
| 8–10pm | 65 | 71 | 71 | 63 | 64 | 68 | 61 |
| 10pm–12am | 65 | 73 | 76 | 63 | 65 | 71 | 62 |
The steadiest stretch at DEN was 6–8am — 90.9% of departures left on time across 77,006 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 63.3%. 6–8am departures from DEN left on time 90.9% of the time across 77,006 flights; 6–8pm departures, 63.3% across 113,532. That is a gap of 27.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at DEN
July was the hard month at DEN: 65.4% of departures left on time, across 83,518 flights. November was the easy one at 82.8%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76.7% | 72,577 |
| February | 78.1% | 67,621 |
| March | 77.8% | 78,720 |
| April | 78.3% | 75,282 |
| May | 72.1% | 80,668 |
| June | 67.9% | 84,394 |
| July | 65.4% | 83,518 |
| August | 71.8% | 81,726 |
| September | 80.5% | 77,432 |
| October | 81.4% | 80,235 |
| November | 82.8% | 74,438 |
| December | 78.5% | 76,985 |
Airlines at DEN
Every airline with at least 100 departures from DEN, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 79.6% | 68 min | 0.7% | 310,528 |
| Southwest Airlines | 67.3% | 50 min | 0.7% | 281,472 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 81.3% | 82 min | 1.2% | 195,665 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74.3% | 67 min | 1.1% | 70,373 |
| Delta Air Lines | 82.1% | 77 min | 0.9% | 35,807 |
| American Airlines | 77.7% | 99 min | 1.7% | 25,986 |
| Alaska Airlines | 77.7% | 59 min | 1% | 6,999 |
| JetBlue Airways | 64.5% | 98 min | 2.1% | 3,998 |
| Allegiant Air | 70.5% | 103 min | 1.3% | 1,341 |
| Spirit Airlines | 66.9% | 69 min | 1.2% | 771 |
| Envoy Air | 71.8% | 81 min | 0.5% | 656 |
What delays out of DEN were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 219,457 flights that departed DEN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 33.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.9%
- Airline operations 33.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.1%
- Severe weather 4.6%
- Security 0.1%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through DEN
Of 933,527 scheduled arrivals into DEN, 78.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 189,705 arrivals that ran late, 53.5% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of DEN
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
- PHX 76.1% on time · 27,686 flights
- LAS 74.5% on time · 23,811 flights
- SLC 77.4% on time · 23,667 flights
- LAX 79.2% on time · 23,079 flights
- SEA 74.9% on time · 19,612 flights
- ORD 74.4% on time · 18,922 flights
- DFW 74.7% on time · 18,322 flights
- MSP 77.6% on time · 18,262 flights
- ATL 78.7% on time · 17,593 flights
- SAN 75.9% on time · 16,924 flights
DEN in one number
Denver (DEN)
Rank 2 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about DEN
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Denver?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.9% of the time across 77,006 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 63.3%.
- Is the early flight out of DEN really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from DEN left on time 90.9% of the time across 77,006 flights; 6–8pm departures, 63.3% across 113,532. That is a gap of 27.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of DEN?
- July: 65.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 83,518 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 82.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at DEN?
- Delta Air Lines — 82.1% of its 35,807 departures from DEN left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 64.5% over 3,998 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at DEN?
- 0.9% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.