Los Angeles to Denver

What the Data Says About LAX to DEN

The Los Angeles to Denver corridor (LAX → DEN) covers roughly 862 miles and is served by 39 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 42,014 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 68.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 15,515 flights were recorded on this pairing — 131 cancelled (0.8%) and 39 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 39 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 42,014 total flights analyzed, the 84.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 68.1-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, Dec 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 73% on-time — a 18-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LAX to DEN route, the combination of a 84.3% on-time rate, 68.1-minute average delay, 0.8% recent cancellation rate, and 39 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.