Denver to Philadelphia

What the Data Says About DEN to PHL

The Denver to Philadelphia corridor (DEN → PHL) covers roughly 1,558 miles and is served by 20 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 15,251 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 74.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 70.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,021 flights were recorded on this pairing — 62 cancelled (1.0%) and 17 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 20 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 15,251 total flights analyzed, the 74.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 70.8-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 86% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 59% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to PHL route, the combination of a 74.8% on-time rate, 70.8-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 20 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.