Historical on-time performance
Denver to Washington
1,452 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DEN–IAD arrive on time 78% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate78%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay40 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.7%of scheduled flights
based on 3,622 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- United AirlinesbestOn-time83%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.6%Flights2,785
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time63%Median5 minp9060 minCancel1.1%Flights837
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline30%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)19%
- Late aircraft49%
- Security1%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline27%
- Weather62%
- Air traffic (NAS)12%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 26 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 → IAD
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 — 89% on time.
- Mornings89% on time · p90 15 min · 2,640 flights
- Overnights84% on time · p90 25 min · 888 flights
- Middays77% on time · p90 35 min · 3,054 flights
- Afternoons75% on time · p90 65 min · 1,482 flights
- Evenings62% on time · p90 80 min · 1,891 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 76% to 80% on time.
- Wednesdays80% on time · p90 30 min · 1,404 flights
- Tuesdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,396 flights
- Mondays78% on time · p90 35 min · 1,469 flights
- Fridays77% on time · p90 50 min · 1,484 flights
- Thursdays76% on time · p90 45 min · 1,475 flights
- Sundays76% on time · p90 40 min · 1,400 flights
- Saturdays76% on time · p90 45 min · 1,333 flights
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