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

Connect in the morning. The same 75-minute layover misses 6% of the time at 12 pm and 31% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops


United	DEN	DSM	1h 54m	86%	0.6%	1,613	Flying now
Frontier	DEN	DSM	1h 48m	83%	0.0%	159	Flying now
Southwest	DEN	DSM	1h 40m	67%	0.4%	559	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


Delta Details →	DEN 05:45 → ATL 10:42DL 341	1h 43m Atlanta	ATL 12:25 → DSM 13:34DL 2094	6h 49m	97%	87%
Delta Details →	DEN 00:40 → ATL 05:42DL 302	3h 51m Atlanta	ATL 09:33 → DSM 10:45DL 1704	9h 06m	100%	85%
United Details →	DEN 06:00 → ORD 09:42UA 1377	3h 17m Chicago	ORD 12:59 → DSM 14:27UA 1781	7h 27m	99%	83%
United Details →	DEN 05:00 → IAH 08:32UA 320	3h 23m Houston	IAH 11:55 → DSM 14:10UA 6166 · flown by Mesa	8h 10m	100%	82%
Delta Details →	DEN 00:59 → DTW 05:48DL 1096	2h 57m Detroit	DTW 08:45 → DSM 09:44DL 5058 · flown by Endeavor	7h 45m	97%	82%
Delta Details →	DEN 13:15 → ATL 18:18DL 824	2h 57m Atlanta	ATL 21:15 → DSM 22:31DL 2306	8h 16m	100%	78%
Delta Details →	DEN 09:40 → ATL 14:35DL 2235	2h 02m Atlanta	ATL 16:37 → DSM 17:52DL 2086	7h 07m	98%	78%
Southwest Details →	DEN 07:40 → LAS 08:35WN 1559	2h 25m Las Vegas	LAS 11:00 → DSM 16:00WN 1755	7h 20m	100%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	DEN 15:57 → CLT 21:27AA 1735	1h 17m Charlotte	CLT 22:44 → DSM 00:09 +1AA 2241	7h 14m	64%	33%
American Details →	DEN 12:39 → DFW 15:46AA 2359	49m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 16:35 → DSM 18:33AA 1762	4h 54m	55%	26%
American Details →	DEN 18:10 → DFW 21:18AA 1322	47m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:05 → DSM 23:58AA 1371	4h 49m	31%	15%

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

ORD · 1h 15m · leaves 08:00 6%

MDW · 50m · leaves 05:55 10%

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 59m · leaves 15:01 40%

DFW · 47m · leaves 18:10 69%

MDW · 1h 05m · leaves 17:35 71%

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.


Southwest WN 1561 DEN 11:00 → LAS Allegiant G4 8 LAS 15:44 → DSM Connection details →	3h 49m	8h 43m	100%	88%
United UA 1377 DEN 06:00 → ORD American AA 4676 ORD 11:30 → DSM Connection details →	1h 48m	6h 05m	90%	80%
American AA 2771 DEN 07:05 → ORD United UA 1781 ORD 12:59 → DSM Connection details →	2h 14m	6h 22m	94%	79%

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