Denver to Minneapolis

What the Data Says About DEN to MSP

The Denver to Minneapolis corridor (DEN → MSP) covers roughly 680 miles and is served by 25 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 32,213 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 65.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 12,173 flights were recorded on this pairing — 83 cancelled (0.7%) and 10 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 25 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 32,213 total flights analyzed, the 79.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 65.2-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 89% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 65% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to MSP route, the combination of a 79.9% on-time rate, 65.2-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 25 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.