Route Reliability

Route reliability

Denver (DEN) to Santa Ana (SNA): 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 Santa Ana, CA (SNA), September 2025 to August 2026.

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

Denver, COSanta Ana, CA

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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 SNA

Denver, CO to Santa Ana, CA

On time
80.3%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
0.2%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
4.1%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
3,710in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines84.9% on time · 1,901 flights

On time more often than 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 SNA, 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. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) 91.5% 0.4% 3.0% 68 min 0.0% 271
2. United Airlines Most reliable 84.9% 0.2% 3.6% 48 min 0.4% 1,901
3. Southwest Airlines 72.6% 0.1% 5.0% 43 min 0.0% 1,538

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 Santa Ana (SNA): 84.9% of its 1,901 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 72.6% for Southwest Airlines.
  • Frontier Airlines (91.5% on 271 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
  • 0.2% of flights on this route were cancelled, 1.7 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 4.1% of flights, about 1 in 24, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 45 min.
  • Overall, 80.3% of flights on this route arrived on time, 4.7 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (84.7% on time) and June the least reliable (68.8%).
  • Flights scheduled to depart 7 am to 8 am were the most punctual (92.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 6 pm to 7 pm were the least (64.7%).
  • In the other direction, Santa Ana (SNA) to Denver (DEN), 82.8% of flights were on time and 0.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines SNA to DEN.

Best and worst months to fly DEN to SNA

Jan 80.8%
Feb 80.9%
Mar 83.1%
Apr 82.7%
May 76.4%
Jun 68.8%
Jul 72.4%
Aug 75.7%
Sep 83.9%
Oct 84.7%
Nov 84.4%
Dec 84.6%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 80.3%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 80.8% 842
February 80.9% 771
March 83.1% 912
April 82.7% 920
May 76.4% 973
June 68.8% 979
July 72.4% 1,005
August 75.7% 957
September 83.9% 915
October 84.7% 961
November 84.4% 886
December 84.6% 937
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Frontier Airlines September (89.9%) July (74.7%)
United Airlines October (91.2%) June (73.9%)
Southwest Airlines December (79.9%) June (60.5%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 80.3%
Oct 81.4%
Nov 88.9%
Dec 78.2%
Jan 88.0%
Feb 86.8%
Mar 84.1%
Apr 83.2%
May 82.4%
Jun 66.7%
Jul 74.7%
Aug 72.9%
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 80.3% 314
Oct 2025 81.4% 333
Nov 2025 88.9% 298
Dec 2025 78.2% 316
Jan 2026 88.0% 275
Feb 2026 86.8% 257
Mar 2026 84.1% 302
Apr 2026 83.2% 297
May 2026 82.4% 319
Jun 2026 66.7% 327
Jul 2026 74.7% 336
Aug 2026 72.9% 336

Best and worst departure times

6a Insufficient sample
7a 92.1%
8a 91.9%
9a 87.5%
10a 81.2%
11a 84.4%
12p 74.2%
1p 87.4%
2p 68.8%
3p 83.5%
4p 71.2%
5p 68.9%
6p 64.7%
7p 72.4%
8p 70.0%
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 6 am to 7 am Insufficient sample 21
Departing 7 am to 8 am 92.1% 316
Departing 8 am to 9 am 91.9% 405
Departing 9 am to 10 am 87.5% 264
Departing 10 am to 11 am 81.2% 80
Departing 11 am to noon 84.4% 463
Departing noon to 1 pm 74.2% 97
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 87.4% 301
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 68.8% 112
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 83.5% 261
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 71.2% 170
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 68.9% 164
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 64.7% 139
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 72.4% 467
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 70.0% 450
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 Santa Ana, CA (SNA), 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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