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WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Denver → Des Moines

DENDSM · 589 miles · Denver International Airport to Des Moines International Airport

84
Pretty Reliable
WanderNerd Reliability Score
80%
Arrive within 15 minutes
6 min
Average arrival delay
0.6%
Cancelled
2,325
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.

  1. 1.United Airlines84%1,621 flights
  2. 2.Frontier Airlines79%149 flights
  3. 3.Southwest Airlines68%555 flights

What the data says

Morning flights do better here.

DEN–DSM flights departing between 6–9 AM arrived on time 96% of the time, versus 70% between 3–6 PM.

Friday is doing you no favors.

DEN–DSM flights arrived on time 84% of the time on Wednesdays. On Fridays: 77%.

United Airlines has a clear lead on this route.

United Airlines arrived on time 84% of the time on this route; Southwest Airlines managed 68%.

Best historical flights

Ranked by on-time arrivals, minimum 100 flights. Past performance, not a promise.

Top flights by on-time rate

More flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon78%(359 flights)
  • Tue82%(316 flights)
  • Wed84%(322 flights)
  • Thu78%(324 flights)
  • Fri77%(364 flights)
  • Sat84%(297 flights)
  • Sun79%(323 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 6–9 AM96%(167 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM87%(627 flights)
  • 12–3 PM88%(372 flights)
  • 3–6 PM70%(488 flights)
  • 6–9 PM73%(522 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM73%(129 flights)
On-time trend by month
81%
May

Jun 72% → May 81% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202572%214
July 202568%220
August 202575%226
September 202584%223
October 202588%198
November 202586%159
December 202583%167
January 202683%161
February 202678%146
March 202680%187
April 202688%188
May 202681%216

Based on 2,325 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.