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 82% on time.

Nonstops


United	MSN	DEN	2h 42m	83%	0.5%	959	Flying now
Frontier	MSN	DEN	2h 36m	71%	2.1%	140	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 Madison). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	MSN 06:41 → ORD 07:54UA 5902 · flown by SkyWest	3h 00m Chicago	ORD 10:54 → DEN 12:45UA 581	7h 04m	100%	95%
United Details →	MSN 05:00 → ORD 06:17UA 4707 · flown by SkyWest	2h 23m Chicago	ORD 08:40 → DEN 10:31UA 526	6h 31m	97%	84%
Delta Details →	MSN 07:00 → DTW 09:22DL 3665 · flown by SkyWest	3h 20m Detroit	DTW 12:42 → DEN 13:54DL 1648	7h 54m	100%	84%
United Details →	MSN 08:10 → ORD 09:20UA 2151	3h 36m Chicago	ORD 12:56 → DEN 14:46UA 1150	7h 36m	100%	83%
Delta Details →	MSN 05:48 → ATL 09:00DL 1160	2h 45m Atlanta	ATL 11:45 → DEN 12:59DL 706	8h 11m	96%	82%
American Details →	MSN 05:00 → ORD 06:15AA 4322 · flown by Envoy	3h 45m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DEN 11:44AA 1744	7h 44m	96%	80%
Delta Details →	MSN 06:00 → MSP 07:09DL 1274	3h 51m Minneapolis	MSP 11:00 → DEN 12:10DL 2927	7h 10m	99%	80%
United Details →	MSN 06:29 → EWR 09:50UA 3482 · flown by Republic	2h 05m Newark	EWR 11:55 → DEN 14:13UA 1999	8h 44m	95%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	MSN 12:30 → ORD 13:42UA 5447 · flown by SkyWest	51m Chicago	ORD 14:33 → DEN 16:31UA 2803	5h 01m	64%	48%
United Details →	MSN 17:45 → ORD 19:00UA 4603 · flown by GoJet	1h 00m Chicago	ORD 20:00 → DEN 22:01UA 767	5h 16m	59%	39%
American Details →	MSN 13:17 → PHL 16:33AA 5471 · flown by PSA	57m Philadelphia	PHL 17:30 → DEN 19:45AA 3158	7h 28m	63%	38%

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 09:13 4%

CLT · 1h 14m · leaves 07:00 5%

DTW · 48m · leaves 09:30 10%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 50m · leaves 16:40 17%

PHL · 57m · leaves 13:17 37%

ORD · 1h 00m · leaves 17:45 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 3665 MSN 07:00 → DTW Frontier F9 3565 DTW 13:19 → DEN Connection details →	3h 57m	8h 35m	100%	85%
Delta DL 1160 MSN 05:48 → ATL United UA 1327 ATL 11:10 → DEN Connection details →	2h 10m	7h 40m	95%	85%
American AA 3702 MSN 05:00 → ORD United UA 526 ORD 08:40 → DEN Connection details →	2h 25m	6h 31m	100%	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