Bismarck/Mandan to Denver

What the Data Says About BIS to DEN

The Bismarck/Mandan to Denver corridor (BIS → DEN) covers roughly 516 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,872 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80% on-time rate with an average delay of 96.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,831 flights were recorded on this pairing — 32 cancelled (1.1%) and 25 diverted (0.9%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 6,872 total flights analyzed, the 80% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 96.9-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Jan 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 30-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the BIS to DEN route, the combination of a 80% on-time rate, 96.9-minute average delay, 1.1% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.