Denver to Oakland

What the Data Says About DEN to OAK

The Denver to Oakland corridor (DEN → OAK) covers roughly 957 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 10,615 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 73% on-time rate with an average delay of 55.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,570 flights were recorded on this pairing — 21 cancelled (0.6%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). 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 10,615 total flights analyzed, the 73% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 55.4-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 86% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 51% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to OAK route, the combination of a 73% on-time rate, 55.4-minute average delay, 0.6% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.