SNA to DEN flight delays

SNA DEN John Wayne Orange to Denver · 846 miles

11,037 flights were scheduled from SNA to DEN over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 10,926 that made the trip, 83.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

The route in brief

Flights in the window
11,037
Arrived on time
83.5%
Cancelled
0.7%
Scheduled distance
846 miles

Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.

Airline by airline

Airlines with at least 100 flights on SNA–DEN, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.

Airline Arrived on time Typical delay Cancelled Flights
United Airlines 86.3% 70 min 0.5% 5,279
Southwest Airlines 80.6% 56 min 0.7% 4,770
Frontier Airlines 81.8% 66 min 1.8% 988

Month by month

July was the month to avoid on SNA–DEN: 72.3% of flights arrived on time, against 88.3% in November. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.

Share of flights that arrived on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 83.5%.
Arrival on-time share, SNA to DEN, by calendar month
Month Share flights that arrived on time Flights
January 86.5% 843
February 85.7% 771
March 86.2% 911
April 86.6% 920
May 81.7% 975
June 75.9% 978
July 72.3% 993
August 80.1% 949
September 87.6% 914
October 87.6% 961
November 88.3% 886
December 84.9% 936

Both ends of the route

A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.

SNA to DEN in one number

SNA → DEN

When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 62 min.

July 2023–June 2026 · 11,037 flights

83.5% of flights arrived on time

Questions about SNA to DEN

Which airline is most reliable from SNA to DEN?
United Airlines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 86.3% of the time, with 5,279 scheduled. Southwest Airlines came in at 80.6% over 4,770 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
What is the worst month to fly SNA to DEN?
July, at 72.3% of arrivals on time, with 993 flights scheduled. November was the best of the year at 88.3%.
How late are SNA–DEN flights when they are late?
62 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
How often is the SNA to DEN flight cancelled?
0.7% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
Are these departure or arrival numbers?
Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at DEN less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.