Flights Denver → San Diego
DEN → SAN
Route overview
The flight route from Denver to San Diego operates with a mix of aircraft including Airbus A320, Airbus A319, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 757-200, and Boeing 737-900. With over 1,500 flights annually, the route has a punctuality rate of 79%, with an average delay of 9.5 minutes per flight.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Denver (DEN) → San Diego (SAN) route is operated by Frontier Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 1906 flights monitored in recent months, 78% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 11 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.78%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 26.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Diego the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to San Diego: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Denver (DEN) to San Diego (SAN) heads south-west for about 1,371 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 8m.
Departures from Denver on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 37% of DEN-SAN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into San Diego it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,906 tracked DEN-SAN flights, 78% left on time with an average delay of 11 min and a 1.8% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| Frontier Airlines (F9) | 74% | 15 min | 2.2% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating DEN-SAN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DEN-SAN
On the Denver (DEN) -> San Diego (SAN) route, on-time performance is 78% with an average delay of 11 minutes, based on 1906 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Denver-San Diego is 1.78% across 1906 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: Frontier Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at San Diego, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
