Houston to Denver

What the Data Says About IAH to DEN

The Houston to Denver corridor (IAH → DEN) covers roughly 862 miles and is served by 21 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 27,947 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80% on-time rate with an average delay of 73.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 9,593 flights were recorded on this pairing — 114 cancelled (1.2%) and 33 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 21 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 27,947 total flights analyzed, the 80% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 73.8-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 91% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 60% on-time — a 31-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAH to DEN route, the combination of a 80% on-time rate, 73.8-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 21 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.