Denver to San Diego

What the Data Says About DEN to SAN

The Denver to San Diego corridor (DEN → SAN) covers roughly 853 miles and is served by 11 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 28,912 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78% on-time rate with an average delay of 60.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 11,071 flights were recorded on this pairing — 118 cancelled (1.1%) and 37 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 11 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 28,912 total flights analyzed, the 78% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 60.1-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 84% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 66% on-time — a 18-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to SAN route, the combination of a 78% on-time rate, 60.1-minute average delay, 1.1% recent cancellation rate, and 11 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.