Denver to Phoenix

What the Data Says About DEN to PHX

The Denver to Phoenix corridor (DEN → PHX) covers roughly 602 miles and is served by 34 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 49,508 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 65.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 18,460 flights were recorded on this pairing — 183 cancelled (1.0%) and 18 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 34 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 49,508 total flights analyzed, the 77.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 65.7-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, Dec 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 88% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to PHX route, the combination of a 77.8% on-time rate, 65.7-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 34 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.