Flights Washington → Denver
DCA → DEN
Route overview
This flight route operates between Washington and Denver, with an average on-time performance of 83%, and a mean delay time of 11.5 minutes when delays do occur. Over the past year, there have been 328 flights on this route using various aircraft models including Airbus A320, Airbus A319, Boeing 737-800, and Boeing 757-200.
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 Washington (DCA) → Denver (DEN) route is operated by Frontier Airlines, United Airlines. Across 452 flights monitored in recent months, 82% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 13 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.66%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.9/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Denver: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to Denver (DEN) heads west for about 2,369 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 23m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 47% of DCA-DEN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Denver it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 452 tracked DCA-DEN flights, 82% left on time with an average delay of 13 min and a 0.7% 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% |
Airlines operating DCA-DEN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-DEN
On the Washington (DCA) -> Denver (DEN) route, on-time performance is 82% with an average delay of 13 minutes, based on 452 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Denver is 0.66% across 452 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Frontier Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Denver, 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.
