San Diego to Denver

What the Data Says About SAN to DEN

The San Diego to Denver corridor (SAN → DEN) covers roughly 853 miles and is served by 13 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 28,968 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 66.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 11,116 flights were recorded on this pairing — 123 cancelled (1.1%) and 36 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 13 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 28,968 total flights analyzed, the 82.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 66.0-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 64% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SAN to DEN route, the combination of a 82.1% on-time rate, 66.0-minute average delay, 1.1% recent cancellation rate, and 13 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.