Route reliability
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Denver (DEN): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) to Denver, CO (DEN), September 2025 to August 2026.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TXDenver, CO
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DFW to DEN
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to Denver, CO
- On time
- 68.9%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 1.9%vs 1.9% U.S. average About average
- 60+ min late
- 10.8%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 6,059in 12 months5 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- United Airlines76.6% on time · 1,877 flights
On time less often than the U.S. average, with a typical cancellation rate.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. United Airlines Most reliable | 76.6% | 1.0% | 8.7% | 82 min | 0.4% | 1,877 |
| 2. Frontier Airlines | 76.4% | 1.1% | 9.1% | 88 min | 0.2% | 1,201 |
| 3. American Airlines | 60.6% | 2.9% | 12.9% | 69 min | 0.5% | 2,935 |
| Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 24 | ||||
| SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 22 | ||||
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 Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Denver (DEN): 76.6% of its 1,877 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 60.6% for American Airlines.
- Envoy Air, SkyWest Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 1.9% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 53), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 10.8% of flights, about 1 in 9, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 75 min.
- Overall, 68.9% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.7 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (78.8% on time) and June the least reliable (57.0%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 5.8% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (92.3% on time); flights scheduled to depart 4 pm to 5 pm were the least (53.2%).
- In the other direction, Denver (DEN) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), 74.2% of flights were on time and 1.8% were cancelled. Compare airlines DEN to DFW.
Best and worst months to fly DFW to DEN
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 68.9%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69.7% | 1,403 |
| February | 78.8% | 1,368 |
| March | 73.0% | 1,573 |
| April | 66.6% | 1,514 |
| May | 58.7% | 1,619 |
| June | 57.0% | 1,623 |
| July | 61.1% | 1,655 |
| August | 64.2% | 1,604 |
| September | 75.1% | 1,483 |
| October | 75.8% | 1,609 |
| November | 77.8% | 1,472 |
| December | 75.0% | 1,441 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | February (82.4%) | May (62.9%) |
| Frontier Airlines | February (86.5%) | June (59.6%) |
| American Airlines | November (76.0%) | June (48.9%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 72.3% | 462 |
| Oct 2025 | 71.3% | 522 |
| Nov 2025 | 75.2% | 468 |
| Dec 2025 | 70.2% | 480 |
| Jan 2026 | 66.9% | 480 |
| Feb 2026 | 74.6% | 460 |
| Mar 2026 | 72.9% | 539 |
| Apr 2026 | 71.2% | 489 |
| May 2026 | 72.2% | 532 |
| Jun 2026 | 56.8% | 539 |
| Jul 2026 | 62.5% | 547 |
| Aug 2026 | 63.2% | 541 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 92.3% | 349 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 95.9% | 74 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 84.7% | 432 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 75.1% | 566 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 76.5% | 234 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 69.7% | 357 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 81.7% | 388 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 79.9% | 278 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 75.3% | 486 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 59.9% | 329 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 70.5% | 139 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 53.2% | 547 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 57.9% | 178 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 59.4% | 630 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 55.6% | 189 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 55.5% | 272 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 56.5% | 285 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 54.3% | 326 |
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 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) to Denver, CO (DEN), 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.