San Francisco (SFO) → Denver (DEN)
A reference for the San Francisco International Airport to Denver International Airport route. You'll find the operators on file, the great-circle geometry, the connecting options if no nonstop fits your dates, and a short profile of each endpoint airport.
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Denver (DEN) covers a great-circle distance of roughly 1,553 km (965 miles). Aircraft leave San Francisco International Airport on an initial east heading. As US domestic sectors go, this one sits in the long-haul bracket: long enough that most carriers run it as its own dedicated rotation, but short enough to fit inside a single crew duty period.
3 carriers file a direct SFO to DEN sector, with Frontier Airlines and AirTran Airways among the operators on record. A route attracting this many carriers usually points to a city pair with both leisure and business demand, or a competitive hub-to-hub link where the airline alliances overlap on the same metal.
Operators on the SFO → DEN direction
Carriers with at least one scheduled rotation on this sector in the OpenFlights dataset, ranked by the number of code-shared filings.
| IATA | Airline | Country | Callsign |
|---|---|---|---|
| F9 | Frontier Airlines | United States | FRONTIER FLIGHT |
| FL | AirTran Airways | United States | CITRUS |
| UA | United Airlines | United States | UNITED |
This is a long-haul sector. It's long enough that the heaviest rotations need wide-body aircraft, but short enough that twin-aisle types like the Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 carry the bulk of the traffic ahead of the larger 777 and A350. Plan for an in-flight meal service, an entertainment cycle, and a block time near 2h 34m.
If a nonstop doesn't match your dates, Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), and London (LHR) show up on both ends of the network and make the most natural connecting points. The connecting-hubs grid below extends that list to the eight strongest options, ranked by each airport's overall departure activity. That ranking is a fast proxy for how many onward flights a single stop is likely to feed.
Connecting hubs
Airports that already appear on both ends of this network. They're the natural one-stop options when no nonstop matches your dates, ranked by overall departure activity.
Both endpoints sit inside the United States, so this counts as a domestic sector for fare-bucket, baggage, and carry-on purposes. Reservations on US carriers usually pick up the standard domestic checked-bag fee unless you hold elite status, and TSA PreCheck eligibility applies at the departure airport. See the United States routes index for other domestic pairs in the same network.
On the day of operation, the SFO to DEN direction lifts off heading east, then the great-circle track curves to compensate for the Earth's rotation. The return DEN to SFO sector heads west out of the gate, with 1 operators on file for the inbound side. Combine the two operator lists for a full picture of the city pair's competitive landscape.
BTS domestic traffic (SFO → DEN, 2025)
Real 2025 passenger, freight, and departure-frequency totals for this exact non-stop segment, from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics T-100 Domestic Segment (All Carriers) database — not an OpenFlights field. Scheduled-passenger service (BTS service class F) only; all-cargo and non-scheduled service are excluded.
| Carrier code | Carrier (BTS record) | Passengers | Departures performed |
|---|---|---|---|
| UA | United Air Lines Inc. | 558,038 | 3,412 |
| WN | Southwest Airlines Co. | 196,407 | 1,521 |
| F9 | Frontier Airlines Inc. | 93,635 | 578 |
| AA | American Airlines Inc. | 282 | 2 |
| AC | Air Canada | 209 | 2 |
| B6 | JetBlue Airways | 143 | 1 |
| OO | SkyWest Airlines Inc. | 46 | 22 |
Aircraft types flown on this segment in 2025, by departures performed: Airbus Industrie A321-200n (1,173 departures), Boeing 737-800 (898 departures), Boeing B737 Max 800 (706 departures), Boeing 737-900ER (555 departures), Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 (545 departures), Airbus Industrie A320-200n (422 departures), Boeing 757-300 (392 departures), Boeing B737 Max 900 (366 departures) and 12 other aircraft type(s). Mail carried: 155,665 lb. Departures scheduled vs. performed: 5,553 scheduled, 5,538 performed.
Data as of: full calendar year 2025 (all 12 months) · Source: BTS T-100 Domestic Segment (All Carriers), U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics (public domain, U.S. government work). Carrier names and aircraft-type descriptions are BTS's own record values, not this site's. Figures reflect carrier-filed BTS reports, not real-time bookings. See the BTS domestic traffic hub and methodology for match coverage and corrections path.
Endpoints
Other routes from San Francisco (SFO)
Other destinations served from the same origin. Handy for combining trips or for finding an alternate first leg.
Other routes into Denver (DEN)
Other origins that already file scheduled service into the destination airport.
Reading this route page
The operator list reflects scheduled-route filings in the OpenFlights dataset, not real-time availability. A carrier appearing here publishes a scheduled service on this sector. It isn't a live timetable, and the actual flight numbers, frequencies, and aircraft types shift season to season. For booking and current schedules, cross-reference the airline page above with the carrier's own website.
Distance here is the great-circle arc between the two airports' published coordinates. Real flight tracks wander off that line because of wind, ATC routings, oceanic crossings, and political airspace constraints. Block time is an estimate covering ground taxi, climb, cruise at typical jet speeds, and descent. Real block times shift with aircraft type, weather, and traffic, so treat the stat-strip number as a planning indicator rather than a published flight time.