Denver to Los Angeles

What the Data Says About DEN to LAX

The Denver to Los Angeles corridor (DEN → LAX) covers roughly 862 miles and is served by 38 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 42,179 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 68.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 15,579 flights were recorded on this pairing — 131 cancelled (0.8%) and 7 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 38 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 42,179 total flights analyzed, the 80.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 68.6-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 88% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 70% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to LAX route, the combination of a 80.3% on-time rate, 68.6-minute average delay, 0.8% recent cancellation rate, and 38 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.