Denver (DEN) to San Francisco (SFO)
Flight time
≈ 2h 44m
Bearing
266° W
Denver (DEN) to San Francisco (SFO) is 965 miles (1,553 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies DEN–SFO
Filed traffic dataIn May 2026, United Airlines operated the most departures, one of 5 carriers flying nonstop DEN–SFO; the Airbus A321neo was the most common aircraft at 36% of departures; flights ran 82% full.
Departures
974
May 2026
Seats
190,623
both directions
Passengers
157,173
both directions
Load factor
82.5%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies DEN–SFO?
United Airlines operated the most nonstop DEN–SFO departures in May 2026 (620), one of 5 carriers on the route.
- UA
620 departures · 128,481 seats
Share of departures63.7%82.4%
Load
- WN
212 departures · 35,808 seats
Share of departures21.8%82.4%
Load
- F9
134 departures · 25,832 seats
Share of departures13.8%84.3%
Load
- OO
7 departures · 430 seats
Share of departures0.7%5.1%
Load
- DL
1 departures · 72 seats
Share of departures0.1%90.3%
Load
What plane flies DEN–SFO?
In May 2026, the Airbus A321neo flew 36% of DEN–SFO departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Airbus A321neo
353 departures · 86.8% load
36.2% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
147 departures · 78.0% load
15.1% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
119 departures · 68.9% load
12.2% - Boeing 737-800
85 departures · 80.7% load
8.7% - Boeing 757-300
84 departures · 92.0% load
8.6% - Airbus A320neo
76 departures · 86.2% load
7.8% - Boeing 777-200
39 departures · 78.7% load
4.0% - Boeing 737-700
34 departures · 83.8% load
3.5% - Boeing 737-900ER
16 departures · 68.8% load
1.6% - Airbus A320
6 departures · 81.1% load
0.6% - Airbus A321
4 departures · 77.9% load
0.4% - Bombardier CRJ-700
4 departures · 7.9% load
0.4% - Boeing 757-200
4 departures · 88.2% load
0.4% - Bombardier CRJ-200
3 departures · 0.0% load
0.3%
How has DEN–SFO traffic changed?
Nonstop DEN–SFO departures rose from 945 in June 2025 to 974 in May 2026.
Monthly nonstop DEN–SFO traffic, trailing 12 months through May 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
June 2025
945 departures · 165,703 passengers
88.8%
Load
July 2025
915 departures · 165,123 passengers
89.5%
Load
August 2025
932 departures · 157,970 passengers
88.2%
Load
September 2025
908 departures · 144,600 passengers
83.9%
Load
October 2025
929 departures · 151,781 passengers
86.1%
Load
November 2025
874 departures · 136,484 passengers
84.3%
Load
December 2025
927 departures · 146,203 passengers
84.3%
Load
January 2026
891 departures · 128,746 passengers
78.2%
Load
February 2026
807 departures · 118,825 passengers
79.1%
Load
March 2026
901 departures · 147,207 passengers
85.2%
Load
April 2026
856 departures · 134,367 passengers
83.5%
Load
May 2026
974 departures · 157,173 passengers
82.5%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
DEN → SFO
86.2% full
489 departures · 82,910 passengers
SFO → DEN
78.6% full
485 departures · 74,263 passengers
Nonstop DEN–SFO traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through May 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Denver (DEN) from San Francisco (SFO)?
DEN to SFO is 965 miles (1,553 km / 838 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from DEN to SFO?
A nonstop covers the 965-mile great-circle distance in roughly 2h 44m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies DEN–SFO?
In May 2026, the Airbus A321neo flew the largest share of departures (36.2%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (15.1%).
What mileage do I earn flying DEN–SFO?
Distance-based programs credit off the 965-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Trip reports on YouTube
Fliers post trip reports from this route to YouTube. These three were matched automatically from public YouTube listings — The Frequent Flier does not host, review, or endorse them.
QFS Aviation
TRIP REPORT | United Airlines - 777 200 - Denver (DEN) to San Francisco (SFO) | First Class
26:23 · Oct 2018
Fly with Robin
TRIP REPORT | United Airlines Boeing 757-300 (Economy) | San Francisco - Denver
13:08 · Jun 2026
BrandonJohnson10K
United Airlines First Class DEN-SFO 757-300 Trip Report
6:57 · Sep 2023
Source: YouTube. Titles, thumbnails, and channel names come from YouTube. Playing a video loads the YouTube player, and using it means you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service; the Google Privacy Policy applies.
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