Denver (DEN) to San Diego (SAN)
Flight time
≈ 2h 30m
Bearing
239° SW
Denver (DEN) to San Diego (SAN) is 852 miles (1,371 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies DEN–SAN
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 5 carriers flying nonstop DEN–SAN; the Boeing 737-900ER was the most common aircraft at 20% of departures; flights ran 80% full.
Departures
1,013
April 2026
Seats
174,475
both directions
Passengers
140,354
both directions
Load factor
80.4%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies DEN–SAN?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop DEN–SAN departures in April 2026 (382), one of 5 carriers on the route.
- WN
Southwest Airlines
382 departures · 62,366 seats
Share of departures37.7%82.1%
Load
- UA
United Airlines
335 departures · 61,792 seats
Share of departures33.1%85.4%
Load
- AS
Alaska Airlines
144 departures · 25,405 seats
Share of departures14.2%63.5%
Load
- F9
Frontier Airlines
118 departures · 22,328 seats
Share of departures11.6%82.9%
Load
- OO
SkyWest Airlines
34 departures · 2,584 seats
Share of departures3.4%67.5%
Load
What plane flies DEN–SAN?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-900ER flew 20% of DEN–SAN departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-900ER
207 departures · 76.7% load
20.4% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
182 departures · 81.8% load
18.0% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
138 departures · 74.5% load
13.6% - Boeing 737-700
118 departures · 83.3% load
11.7% - Boeing 737-800
116 departures · 80.8% load
11.5% - Airbus A321neo
113 departures · 88.0% load
11.2% - Airbus A320neo
96 departures · 83.2% load
9.5% - Embraer E175
34 departures · 67.5% load
3.4% - Airbus A320
5 departures · 75.6% load
0.5% - Airbus A321
4 departures · 83.7% load
0.4%
How has DEN–SAN traffic changed?
Nonstop DEN–SAN departures rose from 915 in May 2025 to 1,013 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop DEN–SAN traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
915 departures · 128,533 passengers
78.9%
Load
June 2025
906 departures · 136,742 passengers
85.5%
Load
July 2025
902 departures · 140,036 passengers
89.3%
Load
August 2025
868 departures · 134,737 passengers
88.0%
Load
September 2025
821 departures · 124,387 passengers
86.4%
Load
October 2025
1,055 departures · 145,235 passengers
80.3%
Load
November 2025
1,036 departures · 132,988 passengers
75.7%
Load
December 2025
1,064 departures · 136,272 passengers
75.4%
Load
January 2026
993 departures · 126,601 passengers
73.1%
Load
February 2026
922 departures · 127,595 passengers
79.4%
Load
March 2026
1,064 departures · 157,194 passengers
82.8%
Load
April 2026
1,013 departures · 140,354 passengers
80.4%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
DEN → SAN
81.0% full
508 departures · 70,489 passengers
SAN → DEN
79.9% full
505 departures · 69,865 passengers
Nonstop DEN–SAN traffic has been filed with the US DOT since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through April 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work). The DOT publishes roughly three months in arrears.
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Denver (DEN) from San Diego (SAN)?
DEN to SAN is 852 miles (1,371 km / 740 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from DEN to SAN?
A nonstop covers the 852-mile great-circle distance in roughly 2h 30m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies DEN–SAN?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-900ER flew the largest share of departures (20.4%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (18.0%).
What mileage do I earn flying DEN–SAN?
Distance-based programs credit off the 852-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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