Route Reliability

Route reliability

Sacramento (SMF) to Denver (DEN): which airline is most on time?

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

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

Sacramento, CADenver, 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

SMF to DEN

Sacramento, CA to Denver, CO

On time
82.5%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
0.2%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
4.8%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
3,844in 12 months4 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines88.4% on time · 1,791 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 SMF 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 88.4% 0.3% 4.2% 71 min 0.4% 1,791
2. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) 79.9% 0.0% 6.2% 81 min 1.5% 194
3. Southwest Airlines 77.0% 0.2% 5.2% 48 min 0.4% 1,858
SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) 1

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 Sacramento (SMF) to Denver (DEN): 88.4% of its 1,791 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 77.0% for Southwest Airlines.
  • SkyWest Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
  • 0.2% of flights on this route were cancelled, 1.7 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 4.8% of flights, about 1 in 21, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 57 min.
  • Overall, 82.5% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.9 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (90.2% on time) and July the least reliable (76.2%).
  • Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (95.7% on time); flights scheduled to depart 2 pm to 3 pm were the least (66.1%).
  • In the other direction, Denver (DEN) to Sacramento (SMF), 73.0% of flights were on time and 0.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines DEN to SMF.

Best and worst months to fly SMF to DEN

Jan 82.4%
Feb 87.5%
Mar 85.8%
Apr 83.7%
May 79.8%
Jun 79.1%
Jul 76.2%
Aug 77.8%
Sep 86.4%
Oct 90.2%
Nov 88.9%
Dec 82.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 82.5%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 82.4% 814
February 87.5% 759
March 85.8% 910
April 83.7% 920
May 79.8% 1,003
June 79.1% 1,124
July 76.2% 1,174
August 77.8% 1,075
September 86.4% 1,033
October 90.2% 1,044
November 88.9% 995
December 82.0% 974
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines October (95.0%) July (81.4%)
Southwest Airlines February (86.3%) July (72.2%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 81.1%
Oct 89.9%
Nov 86.1%
Dec 73.8%
Jan 84.0%
Feb 87.3%
Mar 84.5%
Apr 86.9%
May 85.4%
Jun 81.4%
Jul 78.0%
Aug 74.4%
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 81.1% 344
Oct 2025 89.9% 335
Nov 2025 86.1% 317
Dec 2025 73.8% 302
Jan 2026 84.0% 262
Feb 2026 87.3% 260
Mar 2026 84.5% 291
Apr 2026 86.9% 290
May 2026 85.4% 321
Jun 2026 81.4% 376
Jul 2026 78.0% 395
Aug 2026 74.4% 351

Best and worst departure times

<6a 95.7%
6a 90.9%
7a Insufficient sample
8a 94.9%
9a 92.1%
10a 87.7%
11a 81.7%
12p 75.4%
1p 72.5%
2p 66.1%
3p 67.4%
4p 75.1%
5p Insufficient sample
6p 80.9%
7p 71.8%
8p 77.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at SMF, 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 95.7% 529
Departing 6 am to 7 am 90.9% 197
Departing 7 am to 8 am Insufficient sample 40
Departing 8 am to 9 am 94.9% 470
Departing 9 am to 10 am 92.1% 114
Departing 10 am to 11 am 87.7% 332
Departing 11 am to noon 81.7% 164
Departing noon to 1 pm 75.4% 309
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 72.5% 425
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 66.1% 218
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 67.4% 89
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 75.1% 445
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm Insufficient sample 46
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 80.9% 215
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 71.8% 177
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 77.0% 74
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 Sacramento, CA (SMF) 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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