Route profile
JFK→DEN
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New York to Denver, 1,626 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 17% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 4,656 flights. How this is calculated
JFK → DEN arrives on time 74.0% of the time; the return trip, DEN → JFK, arrives on time 78.4% of the time, a 4.4-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
JFK → DEN spends 41.4 minutes on the ground on a 1,626-mile trip: 30.4 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at JFK and 11.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at DEN.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
Which day you fly matters unusually much here, a wider weekday spread than 92% of 4,467 comparable routes.
82.1% on time on a typical Tuesday, against 68.0% on a Sunday.
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 4,467 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where JFK to DEN differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
JFK to DEN struggles most at 9 AM: 69.8% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 12.5 points behind the 82.3% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 14.5 points.
JFK to DEN is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 3 PM: 76.0% arrive on time, 4.5 points ahead of the 71.5% those routes manage at that hour.
Saturday is the day JFK to DEN slips furthest against routes of similar length, 69.8% on time where they average 78.7%, 8.9 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 9.3 points.
In July, JFK to DEN runs 9.2 points below routes of similar length, 60.6% on time to 69.8%. Against all other routes the gap is 9.1 points.
Delta Air Lines’ flights on JFK to DEN arrive on time 78.0% of the time, 4.6 points below the 82.6% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 3.5 points.
JFK to DEN against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 9 AM departures | 69.8% | routes of similar length | 82.3% | −12.5 pts | 255 here, 96,848 there |
| Hour: 3 PM departures | 76.0% | routes of similar length | 71.5% | +4.5 pts | 549 here, 80,796 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 69.8% | routes of similar length | 78.7% | −8.9 pts | 606 here, 206,018 there |
| Month: July | 60.6% | routes of similar length | 69.8% | −9.2 pts | 554 here, 183,916 there |
| Airline: Delta Air Lines | 78.0% | routes of similar length | 82.6% | −4.6 pts | 2,845 here, 304,765 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 1,626 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 JFK → DEN flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
JFK → DEN cancelled 98 of 4,656 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 48. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 41.8% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 114 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 98 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.
41 cancellations, 41.8% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
35 cancellations, 35.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
22 cancellations, 22.4% 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.
98 coded cancellations were recorded on JFK → DEN; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
62 min late
against a median of 7 min early
JFK → DEN has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 7 min early, but the worst tenth are 69 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 4,656 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DEN after arriving from JFK.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 40% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 25% | High risk |
| 60 min | 18% | High risk |
| 90 min | 10% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.6% | 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 2.10% of the time and diverts 0.19% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 4,549 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 62 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 4,656 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
JFK → DEN flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 84.8% of the time, against 65.5% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 19.3 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 6 AM: too few flights to score
- 7 AM: 83.9% on time from 127 flights
- 8 AM: 85.1% on time from 1,328 flights
- 9 AM: 69.8% on time from 260 flights
- 10 AM to 2 PM: too few flights to score
- 3 PM: 76.0% on time from 562 flights
- 4 PM: 67.4% on time from 293 flights
- 5 PM to 6 PM: too few flights to score
- 7 PM: 69.8% on time from 820 flights
- 8 PM: 62.3% on time from 917 flights
- 9 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why JFK → DEN runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
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 JFK → 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 2,908 | 78.0% | 1.86% | -10 min | 8.7% |
| JetBlue | 1,699 | 67.4% | 2.59% | -1 min | 13.2% |
Delta Air Lines flew 63.1% of the 4,607 flights listed.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 10.6 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.
Other ways to fly New York to Denver
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA→DEN New York to Denver | 14,618 | 76.6% | 2.08% | -8 min | 56 |
| JFK→DEN this route New York to Denver | 4,656 | 74.0% | 2.10% | -7 min | 51 |
LGA → DEN is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 76.6% on time, against 74.0% for JFK → DEN.
Flying to DEN from the New York area? Compare JFK, LGA, EWR 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 Sunday the least, a gap of 14.1 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 81.2%
- Feb: 74.8%
- Mar: 73.5%
- Apr: 75.6%
- May: 73.6%
- Jun: 68.2%
- Jul: 60.6%
- Aug: 71.6%
- Sep: 82.4%
- Oct: 79.3%
- Nov: 79.2%
- Dec: 76.4%
July is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 21.8 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 54.3% from 153 flights
- August 2023: 73.6% from 130 flights
- September 2023: too few flights to score (117)
- October 2023: too few flights to score (112)
- November 2023: too few flights to score (103)
- December 2023: too few flights to score (114)
- January 2024: too few flights to score (101)
- February 2024: too few flights to score (95)
- March 2024: too few flights to score (111)
- April 2024: too few flights to score (107)
- May 2024: too few flights to score (111)
- June 2024: 70.7% from 135 flights
- July 2024: 64.6% from 155 flights
- August 2024: 66.4% from 135 flights
- September 2024: 83.7% from 142 flights
- October 2024: 94.8% from 153 flights
- November 2024: 85.2% from 135 flights
- December 2024: 82.5% from 144 flights
- January 2025: too few flights to score (116)
- February 2025: too few flights to score (94)
- March 2025: 77.9% from 122 flights
- April 2025: too few flights to score (91)
- May 2025: 65.3% from 124 flights
- June 2025: 60.3% from 143 flights
- July 2025: 55.3% from 153 flights
- August 2025: 74.3% from 154 flights
- September 2025: too few flights to score (119)
- October 2025: 68.8% from 143 flights
- November 2025: 68.5% from 127 flights
- December 2025: 60.0% from 157 flights
- January 2026: too few flights to score (103)
- February 2026: too few flights to score (101)
- March 2026: 64.9% from 136 flights
- April 2026: too few flights to score (118)
- May 2026: 79.3% from 124 flights
- June 2026: 74.1% from 137 flights
- July 2026: 69.0% from 141 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 72.7% against 74.9% in the 12 months before — declining by 2.2 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 4,656 JFK → 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