DEN to LAX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport · 862 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at DEN or LAX right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Denver (DEN) to Los Angeles (LAX) arrived on time 79% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.5% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (84% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (68%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (92% on time); around 8pm did worst (62%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (83% on time) and Sunday the least (76%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (43%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to LAX?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 84% | 0.0% | 10 min | 4.6% | 3,077 |
| Frontier Airlines | 82% | 0.4% | 13 min | 5.8% | 782 |
| Delta Air Lines | 81% | 1.5% | 18 min | 7.6% | 746 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 79% | 0.8% | 17 min | 8.3% | 1,200 |
| Southwest Airlines | 68% | 0.6% | 17 min | 7.7% | 1,903 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am94%85 flights
- 6am92%600 flights
- 7am89%444 flights
- 8am89%449 flights
- 9am89%280 flights
- 10am89%385 flights
- 11am84%607 flights
- 12pm85%520 flights
- 1pm81%726 flights
- 2pm65%131 flights
- 3pm81%325 flights
- 4pm74%236 flights
- 5pm79%378 flights
- 6pm63%611 flights
- 7pm72%702 flights
- 8pm62%410 flights
- 9pm68%449 flights
- 10pm70%368 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday77%0.5% cancelled
- Tuesday82%0.4% cancelled
- Wednesday82%0.3% cancelled
- Thursday78%0.2% cancelled
- Friday77%1.1% cancelled
- Saturday83%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday76%0.3% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft43%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)41%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion14%
- Extreme weather3%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)37%
- Extreme weather37%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion26%
- Security0%
DEN to LAX: common questions
- How often are DEN to LAX flights on time?
- 79% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Denver to Los Angeles cancelled?
- 0.5% of scheduled flights were cancelled (35 of 7,708).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 14 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 61 min behind schedule on average, and 6.4% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DEN?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: LAX to DEN — 82% on time
More flights from Denver
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DEN → LAX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.