Route profile
BWI→DEN
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Baltimore to Denver, 1,491 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 50% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 9,369 flights. How this is calculated
BWI → DEN arrives on time 76.6% of the time; the return trip, DEN → BWI, arrives on time 75.8% of the time.
BWI → DEN spends 23.9 minutes on the ground on a 1,491-mile trip: 15.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at BWI and 8.8 minutes from touchdown to gate at DEN.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
On-time performance swings unusually widely by time of day here, wider than 100% of 4,023 comparable routes.
88.2% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 44.5% for 9 PM–5 AM.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 4,023 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where BWI to DEN differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
BWI to DEN struggles most at 9 PM: 48.1% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 19.4 points behind the 67.5% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 21.4 points.
BWI to DEN is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 10 AM: 87.7% arrive on time, 7.1 points ahead of the 80.6% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 5 points.
Wednesday is the day BWI to DEN slips furthest against routes of similar length, 75.4% on time where they average 80.3%, 4.9 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 5.4 points.
In June, BWI to DEN runs 5.5 points below routes of similar length, 66.4% on time to 71.9%. Against all other routes the gap is 6.3 points.
United Airlines does better on BWI to DEN than on its routes of similar length: 85.5% on time here, 80.6% there, 4.9 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 5.6 points.
BWI to DEN against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 9 PM departures | 48.1% | routes of similar length | 67.5% | −19.4 pts | 185 here, 28,126 there |
| Hour: 10 AM departures | 87.7% | routes of similar length | 80.6% | +7.1 pts | 868 here, 77,265 there |
| Weekday: Wednesday | 75.4% | routes of similar length | 80.3% | −4.9 pts | 1,316 here, 198,568 there |
| Month: June | 66.4% | routes of similar length | 71.9% | −5.5 pts | 846 here, 121,779 there |
| Airline: United Airlines | 85.5% | routes of similar length | 80.6% | +4.9 pts | 2,860 here, 317,362 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 1,491 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why BWI → DEN flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
BWI → DEN cancelled 97 of 9,369 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 97. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 67.0% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 144 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 97 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
65 cancellations, 67.0% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
26 cancellations, 26.8% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
6 cancellations, 6.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
97 coded cancellations were recorded on BWI → DEN; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 4 min early
Percentiles over 9,369 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DEN after arriving from BWI.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 41% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.9% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.04% of the time and diverts 0.33% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 9,241 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 42 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 9,369 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
BWI → DEN flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 88.2% of the time, against 44.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 43.7 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 91.0% on time from 836 flights
- 7 AM: 87.6% on time from 697 flights
- 8 AM: 86.7% on time from 1,247 flights
- 9 AM: 85.2% on time from 399 flights
- 10 AM: 87.7% on time from 876 flights
- 11 AM: 85.0% on time from 215 flights
- 12 PM: 82.2% on time from 391 flights
- 1 PM: 72.9% on time from 339 flights
- 2 PM: 69.4% on time from 375 flights
- 3 PM: 69.1% on time from 477 flights
- 4 PM: 72.5% on time from 1,440 flights
- 5 PM: 58.6% on time from 562 flights
- 6 PM: 57.7% on time from 481 flights
- 7 PM: 70.3% on time from 377 flights
- 8 PM: 60.3% on time from 380 flights
- 9 PM: 48.1% on time from 186 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why BWI → DEN runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for BWI → DEN. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 6,120 | 73.0% | 1.18% | -2 min | 7.3% |
| United Airlines | 2,890 | 85.5% | 0.76% | -10 min | 5.1% |
| Frontier Airlines | 359 | 64.6% | 0.84% | 2 min | 16.6% |
Southwest Airlines flew 65.3% of the 9,369 flights listed.
United Airlines arrived on time 20.9 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Washington to Denver
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAD→DEN Washington to Denver | 10,260 | 81.5% | 0.87% | -7 min | 72 |
| BWI→DEN this route Baltimore to Denver | 9,369 | 76.6% | 1.04% | -4 min | 66 |
IAD → DEN is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 81.5% on time, against 76.6% for BWI → DEN.
Flying to DEN from the Washington area? Compare BWI, DCA, IAD for DEN, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Saturday the least, a gap of 4.0 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 80.0%
- Feb: 81.0%
- Mar: 78.9%
- Apr: 74.9%
- May: 73.6%
- Jun: 66.4%
- Jul: 67.4%
- Aug: 71.2%
- Sep: 83.5%
- Oct: 85.0%
- Nov: 84.6%
- Dec: 79.2%
June is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 18.6 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 58.5% from 276 flights
- August 2023: 71.9% from 275 flights
- September 2023: 82.2% from 259 flights
- October 2023: 75.8% from 282 flights
- November 2023: 84.2% from 274 flights
- December 2023: 88.5% from 269 flights
- January 2024: 79.6% from 239 flights
- February 2024: 85.6% from 210 flights
- March 2024: 80.8% from 230 flights
- April 2024: 69.3% from 259 flights
- May 2024: 69.2% from 306 flights
- June 2024: 69.3% from 305 flights
- July 2024: 69.8% from 321 flights
- August 2024: 65.9% from 282 flights
- September 2024: 84.3% from 268 flights
- October 2024: 90.2% from 277 flights
- November 2024: 85.8% from 249 flights
- December 2024: 85.8% from 247 flights
- January 2025: 82.5% from 210 flights
- February 2025: 78.4% from 185 flights
- March 2025: 85.0% from 241 flights
- April 2025: 71.3% from 230 flights
- May 2025: 75.0% from 243 flights
- June 2025: 67.0% from 301 flights
- July 2025: 64.1% from 317 flights
- August 2025: 75.6% from 282 flights
- September 2025: 83.8% from 266 flights
- October 2025: 89.2% from 269 flights
- November 2025: 83.8% from 237 flights
- December 2025: 61.9% from 243 flights
- January 2026: 78.0% from 200 flights
- February 2026: 78.5% from 184 flights
- March 2026: 69.6% from 211 flights
- April 2026: 86.1% from 202 flights
- May 2026: 78.3% from 208 flights
- June 2026: 62.2% from 248 flights
- July 2026: 77.9% from 264 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 77.1% against 77.4% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 9,369 BWI → DEN flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed