Route Reliability

Route reliability

Santa Ana (SNA) to Denver (DEN): which airline is most on time?

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

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

Santa Ana, 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

SNA to DEN

Santa Ana, CA to Denver, CO

On time
82.8%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
0.3%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
3,714in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines86.3% on time · 1,900 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 SNA 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. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) 87.5% 0.4% 5.2% 99 min 0.0% 271
2. United Airlines Most reliable 86.3% 0.3% 5.4% 70 min 0.5% 1,900
3. Southwest Airlines 77.8% 0.3% 7.1% 59 min 0.3% 1,543

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 Santa Ana (SNA) to Denver (DEN): 86.3% of its 1,900 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 77.8% for Southwest Airlines.
  • Frontier Airlines (87.5% on 271 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
  • 0.3% of flights on this route were cancelled, 1.6 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 66 min.
  • Overall, 82.8% of flights on this route arrived on time, 7.2 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, November was the most reliable month on this route (88.1% on time) and July the least reliable (73.6%).
  • Flights scheduled to depart 9 am to 10 am were the most punctual (94.2% on time); flights scheduled to depart 2 pm to 3 pm were the least (61.8%).
  • In the other direction, Denver (DEN) to Santa Ana (SNA), 80.3% of flights were on time and 0.2% were cancelled. Compare airlines DEN to SNA.

Best and worst months to fly SNA to DEN

Jan 85.6%
Feb 84.6%
Mar 85.3%
Apr 86.3%
May 80.8%
Jun 74.9%
Jul 73.6%
Aug 76.3%
Sep 87.5%
Oct 87.5%
Nov 88.1%
Dec 84.8%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 82.8%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 85.6% 843
February 84.6% 771
March 85.3% 911
April 86.3% 920
May 80.8% 975
June 74.9% 978
July 73.6% 1,005
August 76.3% 962
September 87.5% 914
October 87.5% 961
November 88.1% 886
December 84.8% 936
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Frontier Airlines February (87.1%) August (73.7%)
United Airlines October (92.0%) July (74.4%)
Southwest Airlines November (86.1%) June (69.5%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 85.6%
Oct 87.4%
Nov 87.2%
Dec 77.1%
Jan 88.0%
Feb 85.2%
Mar 79.1%
Apr 90.2%
May 87.5%
Jun 78.0%
Jul 77.7%
Aug 73.2%
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 85.6% 313
Oct 2025 87.4% 333
Nov 2025 87.2% 298
Dec 2025 77.1% 315
Jan 2026 88.0% 276
Feb 2026 85.2% 257
Mar 2026 79.1% 302
Apr 2026 90.2% 297
May 2026 87.5% 320
Jun 2026 78.0% 327
Jul 2026 77.7% 336
Aug 2026 73.2% 340

Best and worst departure times

6a 94.1%
7a 91.7%
8a 93.4%
9a 94.2%
10a 90.5%
11a 87.6%
12p 82.4%
1p 78.1%
2p 61.8%
3p 60.9%
4p 72.9%
5p 60.7%
6p 80.7%
7p 67.2%
8p Insufficient sample
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at SNA, 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 94.1% 288
Departing 7 am to 8 am 91.7% 348
Departing 8 am to 9 am 93.4% 332
Departing 9 am to 10 am 94.2% 243
Departing 10 am to 11 am 90.5% 253
Departing 11 am to noon 87.6% 453
Departing noon to 1 pm 82.4% 136
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 78.1% 456
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 61.8% 249
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 60.9% 87
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 72.9% 255
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 60.7% 56
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 80.7% 368
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 67.2% 186
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm Insufficient sample 4
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 Santa Ana, CA (SNA) 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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