Route Reliability

Route reliability

Orlando (MCO) to Denver (DEN): which airline is most on time?

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

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

Orlando, FLDenver, CO

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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

MCO to DEN

Orlando, FL to Denver, CO

On time
79.6%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
0.6%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
6.1%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
4,523in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines86.1% on time · 1,709 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 MCO to DEN, 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 86.1% 0.5% 4.7% 80 min 0.5% 1,709
2. Frontier Airlines 82.4% 0.9% 6.2% 72 min 0.2% 896
3. Southwest Airlines 72.5% 0.5% 7.1% 56 min 0.3% 1,918

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 Orlando (MCO) to Denver (DEN): 86.1% of its 1,709 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 72.5% for Southwest Airlines.
  • 0.6% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 167), 1.3 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 6.1% of flights, about 1 in 16, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 64 min.
  • Overall, 79.6% of flights on this route arrived on time, 4.0 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, November was the most reliable month on this route (85.6% on time) and August the least reliable (68.4%).
  • Cancellations peaked in October, when 2.8% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (93.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 6 pm to 7 pm were the least (49.1%).
  • In the other direction, Denver (DEN) to Orlando (MCO), 76.8% of flights were on time and 0.7% were cancelled. Compare airlines DEN to MCO.

Best and worst months to fly MCO to DEN

Jan 75.5%
Feb 80.0%
Mar 74.8%
Apr 79.7%
May 73.2%
Jun 71.0%
Jul 71.1%
Aug 68.4%
Sep 79.9%
Oct 82.9%
Nov 85.6%
Dec 81.7%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 79.6%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 75.5% 1,190
February 80.0% 1,136
March 74.8% 1,391
April 79.7% 1,076
May 73.2% 1,100
June 71.0% 1,271
July 71.1% 1,277
August 68.4% 1,064
September 79.9% 996
October 82.9% 1,123
November 85.6% 1,094
December 81.7% 1,205
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines November (89.5%) August (70.3%)
Frontier Airlines February (84.0%) August (69.0%)
Southwest Airlines November (83.3%) May (65.0%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 83.6%
Oct 80.8%
Nov 84.6%
Dec 77.8%
Jan 82.5%
Feb 77.0%
Mar 79.4%
Apr 85.7%
May 84.3%
Jun 73.5%
Jul 80.2%
Aug 67.0%
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 83.6% 318
Oct 2025 80.8% 369
Nov 2025 84.6% 350
Dec 2025 77.8% 401
Jan 2026 82.5% 388
Feb 2026 77.0% 374
Mar 2026 79.4% 467
Apr 2026 85.7% 342
May 2026 84.3% 351
Jun 2026 73.5% 423
Jul 2026 80.2% 398
Aug 2026 67.0% 342

Best and worst departure times

<6a Insufficient sample
6a 93.4%
7a 90.2%
8a 89.2%
9a 87.2%
10a 86.2%
11a 82.7%
12p 85.9%
1p 70.8%
2p 73.5%
3p 73.3%
4p 62.2%
5p 69.4%
6p 49.1%
7p 62.7%
8p 72.7%
9p Insufficient sample
10p Insufficient sample
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at MCO, 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 43
Departing 6 am to 7 am 93.4% 533
Departing 7 am to 8 am 90.2% 133
Departing 8 am to 9 am 89.2% 555
Departing 9 am to 10 am 87.2% 297
Departing 10 am to 11 am 86.2% 275
Departing 11 am to noon 82.7% 139
Departing noon to 1 pm 85.9% 489
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 70.8% 106
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 73.5% 166
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 73.3% 491
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 62.2% 172
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 69.4% 359
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 49.1% 112
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 62.7% 212
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 72.7% 399
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm Insufficient sample 36
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm Insufficient sample 6
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 Orlando, FL (MCO) 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.

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