Originally Posted by
Rock214
Do not choose the tight connection between COS-DEN. Based on my experience there is only about a 25% chance the COS flight will operate on schedule and about a 30% chance it will be cancelled. I live near COS and fly several times a month for work. I drive to DEN to start all my trips because that COS-DEN leg is the first thing on the schedule to get cancelled or delayed if there is a problem anywhere in the network. If you at least give yourself the 2.5 hour turn time in DEN you can possibly drive up there in time to make your flight if the flight out of COS gets cancelled or significantly delayed. I’ve had to do that several times.
I wish I was wrong or exaggerating because the COS airport is so much easier than DEN. But I’ve been burned a majority of the times I’ve tried it.
Let's not exaggerate. 25%? I've had some disappointing delays in the past couple of years but probably not more than 1 time in 10 (if not 1 time in 15). The only flight I've had cancelled from COS to DEN in the past 13 years was the crazy snowstorm in 2006 that dumped 3.5 feet of snow down on Denver. Driving to Denver wouldn't have helped because that airport was completely shut down. DEN-COS flights on the other hand seem to be the lowest priority when DEN is stacked up.
I routinely fly out of COS rather than drive up to DEN because I detest the traffic on I-25, the tolls on E-470, the horrible parking lots at Denver and ridiculously long security lines. If anything, I prefer to fly COS-IAH if I'm headed to the East Coast because Denver can be so bad but the DEN connectors are often more convenient. Of course, there's the Colorado Springs Shuttle, a longer drive but someone else has to deal with the headaches.
I will not argue about the horrible E145s and CRJ-200s on the route up to DEN but it's 20 minutes of cattlecar experience compared to 1-2 hours of I-25 (gotta love Monument pass on a snowy day). It sounds like the OP is familiar with the area so he can use his own judgment and experience WRT fly or drive to DEN but keep in mind he said he had 2 elderly passengers with limited mobility.