Denver to Rapid City

What the Data Says About DEN to RAP

The Denver to Rapid City corridor (DEN → RAP) covers roughly 300 miles and is served by 6 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 10,350 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 76.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,025 flights were recorded on this pairing — 71 cancelled (1.4%) and 20 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 6 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 10,350 total flights analyzed, the 79.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 76.0-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, Nov 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 66% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to RAP route, the combination of a 79.2% on-time rate, 76.0-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 6 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.