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 84% on time.

Nonstops


Southwest	MAF	DEN	1h 50m	96%	0.7%	274	Flying now
United	MAF	DEN	2h 02m	81%	0.9%	1,232	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 Midland). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	MAF 05:00 → IAH 06:37UA 6351 · flown by Mesa	1h 53m Houston	IAH 08:30 → DEN 10:05UA 2816	6h 05m	96%	93%
United Details →	MAF 17:13 → IAH 18:55UA 4001 · flown by Mesa	3h 15m Houston	IAH 22:10 → DEN 23:57UA 1066	7h 44m	98%	86%
Southwest Details →	MAF 07:15 → HOU 08:45WN 4896	1h 35m Houston	HOU 10:20 → DEN 11:50WN 1972	5h 35m	100%	81%
United Details →	MAF 09:37 → IAH 11:15UA 6260 · flown by Mesa	1h 18m Houston	IAH 12:33 → DEN 14:17UA 2168	5h 40m	91%	78%
United Details →	MAF 11:57 → IAH 13:37UA 4011 · flown by Mesa	2h 44m Houston	IAH 16:21 → DEN 18:23UA 484	7h 26m	97%	77%
United Details →	MAF 07:00 → IAH 08:28UA 2281	2h 03m Houston	IAH 10:31 → DEN 12:07UA 1409	6h 07m	92%	75%
American Details →	MAF 05:00 → DFW 06:20AA 4075 · flown by Envoy	2h 15m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:35 → DEN 09:42AA 1756	5h 42m	99%	74%
American Details →	MAF 08:30 → DFW 09:57AA 3343 · flown by Envoy	3h 20m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 13:17 → DEN 14:21AA 420	6h 51m	98%	73%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	MAF 20:23 → DFW 21:48AA 3657 · flown by Envoy	57m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:45 → DEN 23:55AA 662	4h 32m	72%	28%

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

IAH · 1h 18m · leaves 09:37 9%

DFW · 1h 05m · leaves 06:00 21%

Afternoon and evening

IAH · 1h 15m · leaves 19:13 11%

DFW · 57m · leaves 20:23 28%

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.


American AA 4075 MAF 05:00 → DFW United UA 644 DFW 08:45 → DEN Connection details →	2h 25m	6h 06m	96%	85%
American AA 3343 MAF 08:30 → DFW United UA 248 DFW 13:44 → DEN Connection details →	3h 47m	7h 25m	98%	79%
Southwest WN 342 MAF 15:55 → LAS Frontier F9 1994 LAS 18:34 → DEN Connection details →	2h 24m	6h 46m	94%	75%

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