Empirical data of flight delays to and fro DEN vs SFO around December?

December 8, 2014 10:19 AM

Just booked my int'l flight by way of Denver a little under 24 hours ago. Could anyone help me get empirical data (at least a prior probability) of flights to and fro DEN cancelled or severely delayed, compared against ones in and out of SFO around this time of year? I'm slightly concerned about my flight into DEN potentially snowed in, and wanted to get a better sense if it's worth switching to an alternative flight to the same destination via SFO on the ~same day. Thanks a lot!
posted by macbookair to Travel & Transportation around Chihuahua, Mexico (3 answers total)

Use FlightAware to look up the two flights you are considering. They usually list the entire history for that plane, so you can see when they do that flight every night how often it is early/late/canceled. Here's a sample plane that does the SFO-to-DEN route over time (as well as the other legs it does)
posted by mathowie at 10:25 AM on December 8, 2014

I'd also consider that SFO is much more likely to have weather delays than either Oakland or San Jose. Oakland is connected to BART just as SFO, so it's easy to get to the same places. San Jose realistically requires an automobile.


Another Day of Storm-Related Delays at SFO:
Delays at the Bay Area’s other major airports have been minimal. Oakland International reported no flight delays this week. Mineta San Jose International was forced to divert some flights Monday night due to fog, but has operated with only minor delays since then.
posted by blob at 3:17 PM on December 8, 2014

It isn't empirical data, but from a lifetime of flying in and out of Denver, weather delays at the airport are much worse in March or April than in November or December. Spring snow is wet and icy; late fall and early winter snow is dry and fluffy -- it's the former that causes more problems at the airport.
posted by heurtebise at 6:25 PM on December 8, 2014 [1 favorite]