Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 4 in 5 on time.

Nonstops


Frontier	CID	DEN	2h 17m	81%	1.2%	167	Flying now
United	CID	DEN	2h 14m	79%	1.0%	960	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Denver on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Denver is 1 h behind Cedar Rapids). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	CID 08:00 → ORD 09:23UA 656	1h 31m Chicago	ORD 10:54 → DEN 12:45UA 581	5h 45m	100%	95%
Delta Details →	CID 05:45 → ATL 08:48DL 2518	2h 57m Atlanta	ATL 11:45 → DEN 12:59DL 706	8h 14m	97%	83%
Delta Details →	CID 06:46 → MSP 08:05DL 5248 · flown by Endeavor	2h 55m Minneapolis	MSP 11:00 → DEN 12:10DL 2927	6h 24m	95%	79%
American Details →	CID 06:17 → CLT 09:35AA 1039	1h 55m Charlotte	CLT 11:30 → DEN 12:56AA 1758	7h 39m	95%	76%
American Details →	CID 06:00 → ORD 07:15AA 2475	2h 45m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DEN 11:44AA 1744	6h 44m	96%	74%
American Details →	CID 07:28 → DFW 09:48AA 4290 · flown by Envoy	3h 29m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 13:17 → DEN 14:21AA 420	7h 53m	97%	73%
United Details →	CID 10:57 → ORD 12:29UA 4595 · flown by GoJet	2h 04m Chicago	ORD 14:33 → DEN 16:31UA 2803	6h 34m	93%	70%
American Details →	CID 05:17 → DFW 07:34AA 3473 · flown by Envoy	1h 01m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:35 → DEN 09:42AA 1756	5h 25m	93%	70%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	CID 06:46 → MSP 08:05DL 5248 · flown by Endeavor	50m Minneapolis	MSP 08:55 → DEN 10:05DL 2849	4h 19m	67%	55%
Delta Details →	CID 12:09 → MSP 13:26DL 4899 · flown by Endeavor	1h 01m Minneapolis	MSP 14:27 → DEN 15:38DL 1025	4h 29m	63%	50%
Delta Details →	CID 16:24 → MSP 17:39DL 4906 · flown by Endeavor	1h 06m Minneapolis	MSP 18:45 → DEN 19:56DL 2931	4h 37m	59%	39%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

DFW · 1h 01m · leaves 05:17 7%

ATL · 1h 02m · leaves 05:45 11%

MSP · 50m · leaves 06:46 33%

Afternoon and evening

MSP · 1h 06m · leaves 16:24 41%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


Delta DL 5248 CID 06:46 → MSP United UA 2232 MSP 11:34 → DEN Connection details →	3h 29m	6h 59m	95%	90%
American AA 2475 CID 06:00 → ORD United UA 581 ORD 10:54 → DEN Connection details →	3h 39m	7h 45m	96%	86%
Delta DL 2518 CID 05:45 → ATL United UA 1327 ATL 11:10 → DEN Connection details →	2h 22m	7h 43m	94%	84%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON