DEN to PDX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to Portland International Airport · 991 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at DEN or PDX 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 Portland (PDX) arrived on time 75% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.2% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- Frontier Airlines was the most punctual airline here (84% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (63%).
- Departures scheduled around 8am did best (86% on time); around 8pm did worst (55%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (80% on time) and Monday the least (72%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (54%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to PDX?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | 84% | 0.4% | 10 min | 6.1% | 280 |
| United Airlines | 83% | 0.3% | 11 min | 5.2% | 1,825 |
| Alaska Airlines | 80% | 0.3% | 13 min | 5.6% | 612 |
| Southwest Airlines | 63% | 0.1% | 20 min | 8.6% | 1,555 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 46% | 0.0% | 24 min | 7.7% | 13 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 7am84%316 flights
- 8am86%511 flights
- 9am79%134 flights
- 11am83%700 flights
- 12pm80%176 flights
- 1pm85%245 flights
- 2pm76%84 flights
- 3pm80%221 flights
- 4pm77%306 flights
- 5pm53%85 flights
- 6pm60%259 flights
- 7pm67%557 flights
- 8pm55%253 flights
- 9pm63%287 flights
- 10pm59%109 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday72%0.2% cancelled
- Tuesday80%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday73%0.3% cancelled
- Thursday73%0.2% cancelled
- Friday74%0.6% cancelled
- Saturday78%0.2% cancelled
- Sunday76%0.2% 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 aircraft54%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)31%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion14%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion60%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)20%
- Extreme weather20%
- Security0%
DEN to PDX: common questions
- How often are DEN to PDX flights on time?
- 75% 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 Portland cancelled?
- 0.2% of scheduled flights were cancelled (10 of 4,285).
- 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 52 min behind schedule on average, and 6.6% 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: PDX to DEN — 83% 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 → PDX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.