Route Reliability

Route reliability

Denver (DEN) to Orlando (MCO): 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 Orlando, FL (MCO), September 2025 to August 2026.

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

Denver, COOrlando, FL

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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 MCO

Denver, CO to Orlando, FL

On time
76.8%vs 75.6% U.S. average About average
Cancelled
0.7%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
6.7%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
4,528in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines81.8% on time · 1,713 flights

On time about as often as the U.S. average, with fewer 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 MCO, 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. United Airlines Most reliable 81.8% 0.4% 6.1% 77 min 0.7% 1,713
2. Southwest Airlines 73.9% 0.9% 6.3% 50 min 0.4% 1,916
3. Frontier Airlines 73.6% 0.9% 8.7% 68 min 0.4% 899

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

United Airlines has the strongest record on this route.

  • United Airlines had the best on-time record from Denver (DEN) to Orlando (MCO): 81.8% of its 1,713 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 73.6% for Frontier Airlines.
  • 0.7% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 143), 1.2 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 6.7% of flights, about 1 in 15, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 62 min.
  • Overall, 76.8% of flights on this route arrived on time, 1.2 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, November was the most reliable month on this route (83.3% on time) and June the least reliable (66.6%).
  • Cancellations peaked in October, when 3.1% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (92.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 7 pm to 8 pm were the least (43.2%).
  • In the other direction, Orlando (MCO) to Denver (DEN), 79.6% of flights were on time and 0.6% were cancelled. Compare airlines MCO to DEN.

Best and worst months to fly DEN to MCO

Jan 76.6%
Feb 81.1%
Mar 74.4%
Apr 75.6%
May 75.2%
Jun 66.6%
Jul 66.9%
Aug 68.7%
Sep 81.2%
Oct 77.8%
Nov 83.3%
Dec 79.2%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 76.8%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 76.6% 1,199
February 81.1% 1,139
March 74.4% 1,415
April 75.6% 1,090
May 75.2% 1,107
June 66.6% 1,269
July 66.9% 1,276
August 68.7% 1,067
September 81.2% 993
October 77.8% 1,143
November 83.3% 1,099
December 79.2% 1,208
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines December (84.8%) August (72.1%)
Southwest Airlines November (83.7%) June (58.6%)
Frontier Airlines February (87.9%) July (60.0%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 81.4%
Oct 79.2%
Nov 86.6%
Dec 76.7%
Jan 83.3%
Feb 83.7%
Mar 69.9%
Apr 81.0%
May 77.8%
Jun 68.3%
Jul 71.3%
Aug 66.6%
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 81.4% 318
Oct 2025 79.2% 370
Nov 2025 86.6% 350
Dec 2025 76.7% 403
Jan 2026 83.3% 390
Feb 2026 83.7% 375
Mar 2026 69.9% 468
Apr 2026 81.0% 342
May 2026 77.8% 351
Jun 2026 68.3% 420
Jul 2026 71.3% 397
Aug 2026 66.6% 344

Best and worst departure times

<6a 90.4%
6a 92.4%
7a 84.8%
8a 87.9%
9a 80.1%
10a 77.5%
11a 80.9%
12p Insufficient sample
1p 72.0%
2p 65.8%
3p 57.7%
4p 70.1%
5p 68.3%
6p 71.0%
7p 43.2%
11p 81.2%
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 90.4% 343
Departing 6 am to 7 am 92.4% 238
Departing 7 am to 8 am 84.8% 165
Departing 8 am to 9 am 87.9% 404
Departing 9 am to 10 am 80.1% 362
Departing 10 am to 11 am 77.5% 498
Departing 11 am to noon 80.9% 94
Departing noon to 1 pm Insufficient sample 35
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 72.0% 279
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 65.8% 404
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 57.7% 137
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 70.1% 147
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 68.3% 385
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 71.0% 245
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 43.2% 132
Departing 11 pm to midnight 81.2% 660
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 Orlando, FL (MCO), 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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