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 83% on time.

Nonstops


United	PDX	DEN	2h 35m	91%	0.5%	1,824	Flying now
Frontier	PDX	DEN	2h 43m	80%	0.4%	281	Flying now
Alaska	PDX	DEN	2h 40m	80%	0.3%	626	Flying now
Southwest	PDX	DEN	2h 25m	75%	0.2%	1,555	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 ahead of Portland). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	PDX 05:10 → OAK 06:55WN 264	1h 25m Oakland	OAK 08:20 → DEN 11:45WN 3042	5h 35m	96%	96%
Southwest Details →	PDX 05:30 → SMF 07:00WN 3211	3h 15m Sacramento	SMF 10:15 → DEN 13:35WN 3774	7h 05m	100%	96%
Alaska Details →	PDX 14:55 → SAN 17:29AS 1312	2h 32m San Diego	SAN 20:01 → DEN 23:30AS 1619	7h 35m	100%	95%
United Details →	PDX 22:40 → ORD 04:45UA 2094	1h 15m Chicago	ORD 06:00 → DEN 07:42 +1UA 2806	8h 02m	93%	89%
United Details →	PDX 13:14 → SFO 15:05UA 2279	3h 51m San Francisco	SFO 18:56 → DEN 22:44UA 2436	8h 30m	100%	88%
Southwest Details →	PDX 05:00 → LAS 07:10WN 344	1h 45m Las Vegas	LAS 08:55 → DEN 11:50WN 247	5h 50m	96%	85%
United Details →	PDX 23:40 → ORD 05:45UA 1490	1h 20m Chicago	ORD 07:05 → DEN 08:55 +1UA 1217	8h 15m	93%	85%
Alaska Details →	PDX 05:00 → SEA 05:53AS 2431 · flown by Horizon	2h 11m Seattle	SEA 08:04 → DEN 11:56AS 375	5h 56m	100%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	PDX 06:19 → SEA 07:17AS 499	47m Seattle	SEA 08:04 → DEN 11:56AS 375	4h 37m	70%	60%
United Details →	PDX 07:00 → SFO 08:56UA 2818	1h 44m San Francisco	SFO 10:40 → DEN 14:23UA 1604	6h 23m	74%	50%
American Details →	PDX 13:34 → DFW 19:31AA 2286	58m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 20:29 → DEN 21:32AA 577	6h 58m	62%	29%

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

MSP · 1h 11m · leaves 00:33 5%

ORD · 1h 20m · leaves 23:40 7%

PHX · 55m · leaves 05:20 17%

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 1h 12m · leaves 14:25 22%

IAH · 1h 01m · leaves 13:02 23%

DFW · 58m · leaves 13:34 38%

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 3211 PDX 05:30 → SMF United UA 2285 SMF 08:50 → DEN Connection details →	1h 50m	5h 46m	98%	96%
Alaska AS 3353 PDX 07:00 → RNO Southwest WN 3716 RNO 10:30 → DEN Connection details →	1h 50m	5h 40m	98%	94%
Delta DL 1270 PDX 05:45 → SLC United UA 2004 SLC 10:39 → DEN Connection details →	2h 00m	5h 39m	99%	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