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 13% of the time at 10 am and almost half the time at 7 pm.

Nonstops


United	ORD	DEN	2h 51m	80%	0.9%	3,816	Flying now
Frontier	ORD	DEN	3h 06m	72%	3.0%	331	Flying now
American	ORD	DEN	2h 47m	68%	1.5%	1,601	Flying now
Southwest	ORD	DEN	2h 45m	75%	1.5%	390	Not 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 Chicago). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	ORD 07:00 → AUS 09:56UA 1336	2h 59m Austin	AUS 12:55 → DEN 14:14UA 1541	8h 14m	99%	94%
United Details →	ORD 07:00 → MSP 08:41UA 2232	2h 53m Minneapolis	MSP 11:34 → DEN 12:45UA 2232	6h 45m	100%	93%
United Details →	ORD 06:55 → MCI 08:42UA 6005 · flown by SkyWest	2h 51m Kansas City	MCI 11:33 → DEN 12:38UA 5358 · flown by SkyWest	6h 43m	100%	92%
United Details →	ORD 08:42 → DSM 10:17UA 1803	1h 17m Des Moines	DSM 11:34 → DEN 12:45UA 5288 · flown by SkyWest	5h 03m	95%	92%
United Details →	ORD 06:30 → IAD 09:24UA 1689	49m Dulles	IAD 10:13 → DEN 12:05UA 1865	6h 35m	99%	91%
United Details →	ORD 07:20 → MCO 11:15UA 2280	1h 35m Orlando	MCO 12:50 → DEN 14:51UA 1520	8h 31m	96%	90%
United Details →	ORD 08:40 → FSD 10:41UA 4462 · flown by GoJet	2h 37m Sioux Falls	FSD 13:18 → DEN 14:10UA 5492 · flown by SkyWest	6h 30m	99%	90%
United Details →	ORD 08:45 → RAP 10:24UA 2847	2h 11m Rapid City	RAP 12:35 → DEN 14:14UA 5742 · flown by SkyWest	6h 29m	99%	88%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	ORD 10:25 → SFO 13:14UA 543	1h 06m San Francisco	SFO 14:20 → DEN 18:11UA 1596	8h 46m	70%	48%
United Details →	ORD 18:12 → IAD 21:22UA 2202	1h 01m Dulles	IAD 22:23 → DEN 00:30 +1UA 495	7h 18m	58%	47%
American Details →	ORD 14:59 → DFW 17:36AA 2257	54m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:30 → DEN 19:41AA 2235	5h 42m	60%	26%

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

IAD · 49m · leaves 06:30 1%

IAH · 1h 14m · leaves 05:30 1%

BOS · 1h 17m · leaves 07:33 1%

Afternoon and evening

SEA · 48m · leaves 16:20 48%

EWR · 52m · leaves 16:31 51%

DFW · 1h 01m · leaves 16:51 52%

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 2067 ORD 06:59 → MCO United UA 1520 MCO 12:50 → DEN Connection details →	2h 03m	8h 52m	99%	92%
American AA 4969 ORD 06:59 → DSM United UA 5288 DSM 11:34 → DEN Connection details →	3h 02m	6h 46m	96%	90%
Delta DL 1717 ORD 06:30 → MSP United UA 2232 MSP 11:34 → DEN Connection details →	3h 28m	7h 15m	96%	90%

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