Denver to Bismarck/Mandan

What the Data Says About DEN to BIS

The Denver to Bismarck/Mandan corridor (DEN → BIS) covers roughly 516 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,863 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 82.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,832 flights were recorded on this pairing — 39 cancelled (1.4%) and 13 diverted (0.5%). 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 6,863 total flights analyzed, the 80.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 82.4-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 95% on-time, while Jan 2025 came in at 61% on-time — a 34-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to BIS route, the combination of a 80.4% on-time rate, 82.4-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.