Route profile
DEN→EWR
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Denver to Newark, 1,605 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 15% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 9,876 flights. How this is calculated
DEN → EWR arrives on time 75.0% of the time; the return trip, EWR → DEN, arrives on time 77.7% of the time, a 2.7-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DEN → EWR spends 30.7 minutes on the ground on a 1,605-mile trip: 21.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DEN and 9.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at EWR.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route's worst arrivals run unusually far past its typical one, a bigger gap than 91% of 4,598 comparable routes.
A typical arrival is 6 min early, but the worst tenth run 72 minutes worse than that.
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 4,598 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where DEN to EWR differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DEN to EWR struggles most at 2 PM: 58.3% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 14.8 points behind the 73.1% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 16.3 points.
DEN to EWR is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 11 PM: 86.1% arrive on time, 6.1 points ahead of the 80.0% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 7 points.
Saturday is the day DEN to EWR slips furthest against routes of similar length, 74.8% on time where they average 78.8%, 4 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 4.3 points.
In July, DEN to EWR runs 10.4 points below routes of similar length, 59.5% on time to 69.9%. Against all other routes the gap is 10.3 points.
United Airlines’ flights on DEN to EWR arrive on time 75.0% of the time, 5.4 points below the 80.4% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 4.9 points.
DEN to EWR against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 2 PM departures | 58.3% | routes of similar length | 73.1% | −14.8 pts | 309 here, 87,955 there |
| Hour: 11 PM departures | 86.1% | routes of similar length | 80.0% | +6.1 pts | 1,025 here, 49,763 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 74.8% | routes of similar length | 78.8% | −4.0 pts | 1,355 here, 212,223 there |
| Month: July | 59.5% | routes of similar length | 69.9% | −10.4 pts | 1,074 here, 189,994 there |
| Airline: United Airlines | 75.0% | routes of similar length | 80.4% | −5.4 pts | 9,595 here, 369,635 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 1,605 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 DEN → EWR flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DEN → EWR cancelled 213 of 9,876 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 46. The reason filed most often was the airline, 56.3% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 82 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 213 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
120 cancellations, 56.3% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
83 cancellations, 39.0% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
10 cancellations, 4.7% 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. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
213 coded cancellations were recorded on DEN → EWR; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
66 min late
against a median of 6 min early
DEN → EWR has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 6 min early, but the worst tenth are 72 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 9,876 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at EWR after arriving from DEN.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 39% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 24% | High risk |
| 60 min | 17% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 7.0% | Some 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 2.16% of the time and diverts 0.69% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 9,595 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 66 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 9,876 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DEN → EWR flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 89.3% of the time, against 65.6% for 3–6 PM departures, a gap of 23.7 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 93.8% on time from 1,024 flights
- 7 AM: 86.1% on time from 820 flights
- 8 AM: 83.2% on time from 307 flights
- 9 AM: 72.6% on time from 502 flights
- 10 AM: 73.8% on time from 723 flights
- 11 AM: 73.0% on time from 1,079 flights
- 12 PM: 67.8% on time from 462 flights
- 1 PM: 68.8% on time from 850 flights
- 2 PM: 58.3% on time from 329 flights
- 3 PM: 63.7% on time from 690 flights
- 4 PM: 70.3% on time from 568 flights
- 5 PM: 64.4% on time from 1,116 flights
- 6 PM: 72.5% on time from 125 flights
- 7 PM: 64.7% on time from 223 flights
- 8 PM to 10 PM: too few flights to score
- 11 PM: 86.1% on time from 1,036 flights
Why DEN → EWR runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s 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 DEN → EWR. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 9,876 | 75.0% | 2.16% | -6 min | 10.8% |
Other ways to fly Denver to New York
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN→LGA Denver to New York | 14,617 | 74.2% | 1.83% | -4 min | 54 |
| DEN→EWR this route Denver to Newark | 9,876 | 75.0% | 2.16% | -6 min | 50 |
DEN → LGA is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 74.2% on time, against 75.0% for DEN → EWR.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
UA2345 (6:00 AM) arrived on time 94.0% of the time, 31.4 points more often than UA2613 (5:50 PM) at 62.6%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Thursday the least, a gap of 4.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 80.9%
- Feb: 81.2%
- Mar: 77.9%
- Apr: 78.8%
- May: 72.6%
- Jun: 69.3%
- Jul: 59.5%
- Aug: 70.5%
- Sep: 76.6%
- Oct: 83.0%
- Nov: 76.3%
- Dec: 80.9%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 23.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 56.2% from 279 flights
- August 2023: 76.9% from 281 flights
- September 2023: 73.4% from 296 flights
- October 2023: 85.3% from 307 flights
- November 2023: 82.8% from 239 flights
- December 2023: 83.9% from 254 flights
- January 2024: 78.2% from 218 flights
- February 2024: 80.7% from 198 flights
- March 2024: 75.1% from 237 flights
- April 2024: 77.7% from 240 flights
- May 2024: 72.2% from 278 flights
- June 2024: 64.1% from 270 flights
- July 2024: 61.7% from 279 flights
- August 2024: 69.7% from 281 flights
- September 2024: 83.6% from 270 flights
- October 2024: 86.7% from 279 flights
- November 2024: 67.3% from 267 flights
- December 2024: 78.9% from 280 flights
- January 2025: 79.5% from 255 flights
- February 2025: 78.0% from 224 flights
- March 2025: 79.2% from 270 flights
- April 2025: 68.1% from 240 flights
- May 2025: 54.6% from 234 flights
- June 2025: 62.9% from 231 flights
- July 2025: 56.0% from 309 flights
- August 2025: 65.3% from 310 flights
- September 2025: 73.4% from 296 flights
- October 2025: 77.2% from 300 flights
- November 2025: 79.5% from 266 flights
- December 2025: 80.4% from 281 flights
- January 2026: 84.4% from 246 flights
- February 2026: 85.0% from 219 flights
- March 2026: 79.0% from 274 flights
- April 2026: 89.3% from 271 flights
- May 2026: 87.2% from 290 flights
- June 2026: 78.9% from 301 flights
- July 2026: 63.8% from 306 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 78.2% against 72.1% in the 12 months before — improving by 6.1 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 9,876 DEN → EWR 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