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 one-hour layover misses 6% of the time at 9 am and 1 time in 4 at 5 pm.

Nonstops


United	DSM	DEN	2h 11m	85%	0.7%	1,612	Flying now
Southwest	DSM	DEN	1h 55m	83%	0.5%	559	Flying now
Frontier	DSM	DEN	2h 04m	81%	0.0%	159	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 Des Moines). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	DSM 06:00 → ORD 07:40UA 1856	3h 14m Chicago	ORD 10:54 → DEN 12:45UA 581	7h 45m	96%	92%
United Details →	DSM 06:20 → IAH 08:49UA 1982	3h 44m Houston	IAH 12:33 → DEN 14:17UA 2168	8h 57m	99%	84%
Delta Details →	DSM 05:35 → ATL 08:44DL 2727	3h 01m Atlanta	ATL 11:45 → DEN 12:59DL 706	8h 24m	98%	82%
American Details →	DSM 05:45 → PHX 06:45AA 1795	1h 47m Phoenix	PHX 08:32 → DEN 11:29AA 1757	6h 42m	92%	81%
Delta Details →	DSM 06:08 → DTW 08:59DL 5414 · flown by Endeavor	3h 43m Detroit	DTW 12:42 → DEN 13:54DL 1648	8h 46m	96%	80%
Delta Details →	DSM 14:25 → ATL 17:38DL 2094	3h 16m Atlanta	ATL 20:54 → DEN 22:12DL 493	8h 47m	100%	79%
United Details →	DSM 08:00 → ORD 09:40UA 2287	3h 16m Chicago	ORD 12:56 → DEN 14:46UA 1150	7h 46m	96%	78%
American Details →	DSM 05:00 → ORD 06:39AA 4519 · flown by Republic	3h 21m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DEN 11:44AA 1744	7h 44m	97%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	DSM 15:01 → IAH 17:25UA 6117 · flown by Mesa	54m Houston	IAH 18:19 → DEN 20:14UA 1654	6h 13m	75%	48%
American Details →	DSM 13:04 → PHL 16:44AA 5165 · flown by PSA	46m Philadelphia	PHL 17:30 → DEN 19:45AA 3158	7h 41m	63%	37%
American Details →	DSM 13:41 → CLT 17:11AA 1763	1h 21m Charlotte	CLT 18:32 → DEN 20:17AA 1736	7h 36m	75%	36%

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

ATL · 1h 06m · leaves 05:35 6%

ORD · 1h 00m · leaves 06:00 7%

CLT · 1h 00m · leaves 07:04 10%

Afternoon and evening

IAH · 54m · leaves 15:01 25%

DTW · 1h 09m · leaves 17:34 30%

PHL · 46m · leaves 13:04 37%

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 5402 DSM 06:50 → MSP United UA 2232 MSP 11:34 → DEN Connection details →	3h 22m	6h 55m	94%	87%
Delta DL 2727 DSM 05:35 → ATL United UA 1327 ATL 11:10 → DEN Connection details →	2h 26m	7h 53m	96%	85%
American AA 4519 DSM 05:00 → ORD United UA 526 ORD 08:40 → DEN Connection details →	2h 01m	6h 31m	93%	80%

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