Historical on-time performance
Denver to Des Moines
590 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DEN–DSM arrive on time 79% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate79%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay40 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.7%of scheduled flights
based on 2,148 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- SkyWest AirlinesbestOn-time87%Medianon timep9015 minCancel1.1%Flights935
- United AirlinesOn-time77%Medianon timep9055 minCancel0.3%Flights686
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time67%Medianon timep9065 minCancel0.4%Flights527
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline35%
- Weather3%
- Air traffic (NAS)11%
- Late aircraft51%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline7%
- Weather79%
- Air traffic (NAS)14%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 14 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DEN → DSM
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 87% on time.
- Mornings87% on time · p90 15 min · 1,236 flights
- Middays83% on time · p90 25 min · 2,046 flights
- Afternoons71% on time · p90 40 min · 384 flights
- Overnights71% on time · p90 60 min · 1,513 flights
- Evenings65% on time · p90 85 min · 1,763 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 73% to 80% on time.
- Wednesdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 983 flights
- Saturdays77% on time · p90 50 min · 938 flights
- Tuesdays76% on time · p90 45 min · 957 flights
- Sundays76% on time · p90 50 min · 982 flights
- Mondays74% on time · p90 50 min · 1,035 flights
- Thursdays73% on time · p90 50 min · 999 flights
- Fridays73% on time · p90 60 min · 1,048 flights
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