Route · DEN → SFO · 2020–2025 BTS data
Denver to San Francisco
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), DEN to SFO (Denver to San Francisco) ranks #148 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 74.9%
- On-time
- -4.1 pts
- vs US avg
- 65 min
- Delay when late
- 28,758
- Flights
- #148 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.8%
Best Month
Oct 2024 86%
Worst Month
Feb 2024 48%
Distance
967 mi
Carriers
6
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 457 | 164 | 1 | 0 | WN,F9,UA |
| Nov 2025 | 437 | 130 | 4 | 0 | UA,F9,WN |
| Oct 2025 | 460 | 133 | 1 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Sep 2025 | 451 | 116 | 0 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Aug 2025 | 461 | 142 | 1 | 0 | WN,F9,UA |
| Jul 2025 | 464 | 200 | 11 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Jun 2025 | 470 | 164 | 5 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| May 2025 | 489 | 132 | 2 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Apr 2025 | 463 | 108 | 0 | 0 | F9,UA,WN |
| Mar 2025 | 470 | 120 | 2 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Feb 2025 | 439 | 159 | 0 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Jan 2025 | 477 | 109 | 1 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Dec 2024 | 505 | 114 | 1 | 1 | F9,UA,WN |
| Nov 2024 | 489 | 158 | 8 | 0 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Oct 2024 | 495 | 70 | 1 | 1 | UA,WN,F9 |
| Sep 2024 | 485 | 85 | 1 | 1 | WN,UA,F9 |
| Aug 2024 | 482 | 146 | 2 | 0 | F9,WN,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 478 | 134 | 3 | 0 | F9,UA,WN |
| Jun 2024 | 459 | 159 | 3 | 0 | F9,UA,WN |
| May 2024 | 476 | 221 | 3 | 0 | F9,UA,WN |
| Apr 2024 | 455 | 202 | 1 | 0 | F9,UA,WN |
| Mar 2024 | 450 | 227 | 5 | 0 | F9,UA,WN |
| Feb 2024 | 375 | 195 | 8 | 1 | F9,UA,WN |
| Jan 2024 | 397 | 113 | 28 | 1 | F9,WN,UA |
DEN–SFO seasonal on-time pattern
Best: October (82.2%) · weakest: July (70.1%)
Strongest calendar month
October
82.2% on-time · ~426 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
October
~426 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
July
70.1% on-time · ~421 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.8%
92 of 11,084 flights
Diversion Rate
0.0%
5 of 11,084 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
DEN - Denver
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Denver, CO.
DEN on-time profileSFO - San Francisco
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for San Francisco, CA.
SFO on-time profileCompare the two airports
See DEN and SFO side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare DEN vs SFOOrigin-hub reliability standing
Softer reliability from DEN
Among 168 routes leaving DEN, only 27 (including this one) clear below 75% on-time, while 8 stay ≥85% and 133 sit mid-band. Travelers comparing DEN options should weigh this 74.9% print against those peers · fleet on-time rank #4486 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to DEN–SFO.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About DEN to SFO
On-time performance on the DEN to SFO pairing (Denver to San Francisco) trails a chunk of the network: 74.9% of 28,758 tracked flights arrived on schedule, with a 65.4-minute average delay on the ones that ran late. The route spans about 967 miles across 6 carriers. Cancellations over the trailing 24 months hit 0.8% (92 of 11,084 flights), with 0.0% diverted.
The monthly split is wide on this route: Oct 2024 posted the strongest performance at 86% on-time, while Feb 2024 came in at just 48% - a 38-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, DEN–SFO peaks in October at 82.2% on-time ; the softest month is July at 70.1%, a 12.1-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does DEN to SFO rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from DEN to SFO? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for DEN to SFO? ▼
How far is the flight from DEN to SFO? ▼
When is the best time to fly from DEN to SFO? ▼
Airports on this route
Data source
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data. Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Using DEN–SFO data
DEN–SFO sits 4.1 pts below the national 79% average; check the seasonal chart and airport profiles before treating the headline as typical.
- Compare DEN and SFO airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. DEN airport
- If your dates flex, October (82.2% on-time) beats July (70.1%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 74.9% on-time rate; compare before you commit to this pairing. Similar routes
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers on this origin–destination pair, not any single flight or booking recommendation.
Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates this specific route's on-time performance and monthly trend, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.