Route Reliability

Route reliability

Denver (DEN) to New York (LGA): which airline is most on time?

On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Denver, CO (DEN) to New York, NY (LGA), September 2025 to August 2026.

Historical performance Official DOT data through August 2026 · Not live flight status

Denver, CONew York, NY

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Three-letter airport codes, nonstop U.S. domestic flights. One direction at a time.

Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026

DEN to LGA

Denver, CO to New York, NY

On time
68.1%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
Cancelled
2.9%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
60+ min late
10.6%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
Scheduled flights
4,664in 12 months4 airlines
Most reliable airline
Delta Air Lines74.6% on time · 1,033 flights

On time less often than the U.S. average, with more cancellations.

Compared with all U.S. flights, September 2025 to August 2026. “About average” means within 1.5 points for on time, 0.3 for cancelled and 1 for 60+ minutes late.

Airlines on this route

Ranked by on-time arrival

Airlines from DEN to LGA, September 2025 to August 2026. Rates are shares of all scheduled flights.
Airline On time Cancelled 60+ min late Avg delay when late Diverted Flights
1. Delta Air Lines Most reliable 74.6% 4.8% 7.6% 83 min 1.5% 1,033
2. United Airlines 71.1% 1.8% 10.8% 74 min 1.4% 2,021
3. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) 63.4% 3.2% 15.1% 93 min 0.0% 93
4. Southwest Airlines 60.1% 3.1% 12.1% 59 min 1.5% 1,517

On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.

What this means

Delta Air Lines has the strongest record on this route.

  • Delta Air Lines had the best on-time record from Denver (DEN) to New York (LGA): 74.6% of its 1,033 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 60.1% for Southwest Airlines.
  • 2.9% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 34), 1.0 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 10.6% of flights, about 1 in 9, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 70 min.
  • Overall, 68.1% of flights on this route arrived on time, 7.5 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, April was the most reliable month on this route (80.7% on time) and July the least reliable (58.2%).
  • Cancellations peaked in July, when 4.3% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (90.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 3 pm to 4 pm were the least (52.1%).
  • In the other direction, New York (LGA) to Denver (DEN), 67.2% of flights were on time and 3.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines LGA to DEN.

Best and worst months to fly DEN to LGA

Jan 75.4%
Feb 75.9%
Mar 68.9%
Apr 80.7%
May 70.5%
Jun 62.1%
Jul 58.2%
Aug 66.4%
Sep 76.3%
Oct 80.0%
Nov 78.6%
Dec 74.1%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 68.1%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 75.4% 1,132
February 75.9% 1,026
March 68.9% 1,143
April 80.7% 1,112
May 70.5% 1,155
June 62.1% 1,174
July 58.2% 1,217
August 66.4% 1,213
September 76.3% 1,249
October 80.0% 1,268
November 78.6% 1,166
December 74.1% 1,195
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Delta Air Lines November (83.3%) July (66.7%)
United Airlines October (83.2%) July (60.4%)
Southwest Airlines April (78.5%) July (52.4%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 74.9%
Oct 68.8%
Nov 65.8%
Dec 67.8%
Jan 79.0%
Feb 75.7%
Mar 56.5%
Apr 80.2%
May 74.8%
Jun 58.6%
Jul 55.9%
Aug 61.3%
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
All airlines combined, September 2025 to August 2026. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Sep 2025 74.9% 399
Oct 2025 68.8% 400
Nov 2025 65.8% 363
Dec 2025 67.8% 391
Jan 2026 79.0% 381
Feb 2026 75.7% 338
Mar 2026 56.5% 402
Apr 2026 80.2% 394
May 2026 74.8% 397
Jun 2026 58.6% 394
Jul 2026 55.9% 404
Aug 2026 61.3% 401

Best and worst departure times

<6a Insufficient sample
6a 90.1%
7a 79.1%
8a 84.7%
9a 74.6%
10a 68.4%
11a 67.7%
12p 69.1%
1p 62.3%
2p 57.6%
3p 52.1%
4p 61.8%
5p 57.4%
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at DEN, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing before 6 am Insufficient sample 8
Departing 6 am to 7 am 90.1% 365
Departing 7 am to 8 am 79.1% 263
Departing 8 am to 9 am 84.7% 424
Departing 9 am to 10 am 74.6% 422
Departing 10 am to 11 am 68.4% 266
Departing 11 am to noon 67.7% 807
Departing noon to 1 pm 69.1% 94
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 62.3% 114
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 57.6% 439
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 52.1% 213
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 61.8% 319
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 57.4% 930
Woman at an airport window watching a plane take off
Photo: Depositphotos (licensed stock, illustrative only). Credits

Sources & data dates

Source
U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
Period
September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
Data through
August 2026
Processed
2026-11-03
Scope
Nonstop scheduled flights from Denver, CO (DEN) to New York, NY (LGA), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
Method
Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.

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