DEN to SNA flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to John Wayne Orange County International Airport · 846 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at DEN or SNA 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 Santa Ana (SNA) arrived on time 81% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.3% were cancelled, and 4% arrived an hour or more late.
- Frontier Airlines was the most punctual airline here (89% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (73%).
- Departures scheduled around 7am did best (93% on time); around 6pm did worst (65%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (85% on time) and Monday the least (77%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (48%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to SNA?
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 | 89% | 0.4% | 8 min | 3.9% | 280 |
| United Airlines | 86% | 0.4% | 8 min | 3.3% | 1,869 |
| Southwest Airlines | 73% | 0.1% | 13 min | 4.9% | 1,536 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 7am93%296 flights
- 8am92%424 flights
- 9am86%261 flights
- 10am80%99 flights
- 11am85%473 flights
- 12pm78%86 flights
- 1pm87%290 flights
- 2pm69%117 flights
- 3pm86%239 flights
- 4pm74%167 flights
- 5pm68%155 flights
- 6pm65%144 flights
- 7pm73%478 flights
- 8pm72%440 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday77%0.2% cancelled
- Tuesday85%0.6% cancelled
- Wednesday83%0.2% cancelled
- Thursday78%0.4% cancelled
- Friday81%0.3% cancelled
- Saturday84%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday81%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 aircraft48%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)36%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion15%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)60%
- Extreme weather20%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion20%
- Security0%
DEN to SNA: common questions
- How often are DEN to SNA flights on time?
- 81% 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 Santa Ana cancelled?
- 0.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (10 of 3,685).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 10 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 46 min behind schedule on average, and 4.0% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DEN?
- Flights on this route spent 18 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SNA to DEN — 84% 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 → SNA, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.