Delays & Disruption
Your Flight Slipped.
Your Ride Did Not.
We track the aircraft, not the clock. A delay is our problem before it is yours.
If your flight into Denver International Airport is delayed, Arion moves the pickup with the arrival — we track the flight and the reservation follows it, at no extra charge. If the flight is cancelled, we issue a credit for the value of the ride and rebook off your new flight. We do not cancel a confirmed reservation because an airline changed its schedule.
The policy in one paragraph
We never cancel a confirmed ride because of a flight disruption. There are exactly two things that stand a chauffeur down: you tell us to, or we have had no reply one hour after your flight has landed. That is the whole policy, and it is worth stating plainly because the alternative — a ride that quietly expires while you sit on a taxiway in Dallas — is the thing people are afraid of.
Delays are not billed as wait time. Your pickup is set for 30 minutes after scheduled landing, and when the schedule moves, the pickup moves with it.
Delayed, cancelled, diverted: three different answers
Delayed. Nothing is required of you. We track the flight, dispatch restages the chauffeur against the new arrival, and the chauffeur texts you when you are on the ground. A three-hour slide is an ordinary Tuesday at DEN in February.
Cancelled. You get a credit for the value of the ride, and we rebook off your new flight information whenever that lands. If your travel date shifts for a reason outside your control, you are not repriced onto a different day's rate — the credit carries.
Diverted. We follow the passenger. If a Denver-bound flight is put down at Colorado Springs, we can often meet it there or run the ground leg back, subject to vehicle availability. We will say plainly that a rerouted pickup is delayed — repositioning 70-plus miles in the same storm system takes time, and nobody should be told otherwise.
What we need from you when it goes wrong
Very little, and this is the part worth reading.
- Keep your phone reachable. The chauffeur texts on landing. The one hour of silence after landing is the only thing that releases a vehicle.
- Tell us if you rebook yourself. A new flight number takes ten seconds to send and saves an hour of guessing.
- Do not cancel the reservation because the flight moved. You do not need to. Cancelling it is the one action that costs you something.
Cancellation terms are the same on every booking: full refund at 48 hours or more, up to 50% inside 48 hours, nothing inside 24. Tours run on a 7-day window. A cancellation caused by an airline, not by you, is handled as a credit instead.
Weather is the usual cause, and it does not stop us
In winter our vehicles run state-approved winter tires and four-wheel drive, which is what Colorado's Traction Law asks for; 4WD vehicles are not required to chain up. Two-wheel-drive vans and buses carry the traction devices the state requires. Chauffeurs are asked to carry a cold-weather kit — flares, triangles, solar blankets, water, food.
Storm cycles at DEN produce the delays, the diversions and the ground stops all at once, which is precisely when on-demand supply disappears. A pre-committed vehicle is the whole point of the product on those days.
If the onward leg is into the mountains, the Traction Law is probably active on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison, and the drive is longer than the map says. We build that in rather than discovering it at Vail Pass. See winter storm transportation and the DEN weather disruption guide.
Why disruption is an operator question, not an app question
On a clear Tuesday every option works. The differences show up on the days when something breaks, and they show up in the same direction every time.
This is the entire argument for pre-arranged ground transportation, and it is worth exactly nothing on the days when nothing goes wrong.
How we track it
Bookings carry your flight number, and dispatch watches the arrival rather than the clock. Practically:
- The chauffeur's staging time moves with the arrival, not with the original reservation.
- The chauffeur texts you their name and number before you land, so the first message on the ground is from a person you can already identify.
- Dispatch is a phone number that a human answers, through the night.
- Mountain onward legs are monitored for closures, and chauffeurs are rerouted mid-trip when the highway shuts or the delay gets substantial.
Departures work the same way in reverse: DEN recommends two hours before the flight, we reverse-engineer the pickup from distance, traffic and forecast, and tell you if the answer is uncomfortably early. In winter, from the mountains, it usually is.
Who is driving, and what stands behind the trip
Every Arion chauffeur is background-checked, drug-tested and trained against a written standard operating procedure before carrying a passenger. That SOP is not a formality: it covers vehicle inspection, staging, airport procedure, discretion, and what to do when the highway closes. Chauffeurs recertify against it.
Rides are covered by our own fleet, by Arion-trained independent affiliate chauffeurs, and by vetted Colorado PUC-certified operators. The standard is the same in all three cases, because the SOP is the same. If a trip is covered by an affiliate, the vetting, the insurance requirement and the procedure do not change.
The record, since Arion opened in October 2025: more than 2,500 trips, 10,556 passengers, 579,878 miles, zero accidents. More than 65% of those trips were run on Arion’s own fleet with Arion chauffeurs; the balance went to vetted Colorado PUC-certified affiliate operators trained to Arion’s written standards (how we vet them). 51% of clients book again, and repeat clients are 79% of revenue — which is the number we would look at if we were the ones choosing.
- Colorado PUC permit LL-04689. Luxury limousine authority, which is the category black car and chauffeured SUV work falls under in this state.
- $1.5 million commercial auto liability and $5 million general liability, on every vehicle, every trip.
- Pre-arranged only. Colorado does not permit this class of carrier to take street hails or on-demand dispatch. Every trip is a reservation.
- Arion, LLC, operating as Arion Transportation and Tours. Woman-owned.
If you are comparing operators, ask each one for a permit number and a certificate of insurance. It is a fair question and it takes about a minute to answer.
Departures: how early we actually leave
Delays get the attention, but the ride that actually costs someone a flight is the outbound one. Here is how we set it.
The chauffeur then stages 15 minutes before that pickup time for a vehicle check and a route and traffic review. If you would rather leave earlier than our arithmetic says, tell us — we move the chauffeur and it costs nothing.
Questions we get asked
What happens to my car service if my flight into Denver is delayed?
Nothing you need to do. We track the flight and the pickup moves with the new arrival time at no extra charge. The chauffeur texts you as soon as the aircraft is on the ground.
Do you charge wait time for a delayed flight?
No. Pickup is scheduled 30 minutes after your scheduled landing, and a delay restages the chauffeur rather than running a meter.
What if my flight is cancelled?
We issue a credit for the value of the ride and rebook off your new flight information. A date change caused by a cancelled or delayed flight does not reprice you onto another day's rate.
What if my flight is diverted to another airport?
We follow the passenger. If a Denver-bound flight is diverted to Colorado Springs we can often meet it there or run the ground leg back, subject to vehicle availability. A rerouted pickup will be delayed — repositioning 70-plus miles in the same storm takes time.
Will my ride be cancelled if the weather is bad?
No. A confirmed booking stands. The only two things that stand a chauffeur down are your instruction, or no reply one hour after your flight has landed.
How long will the chauffeur wait at DEN?
Pickup is set 30 minutes after scheduled landing, and the vehicle is not released until dispatch has exhausted every way of reaching you. One hour after landing with no contact is the release point, and that booking is not refunded.
Should I book earlier in winter?
Yes, and leave earlier too. Winter mountain transfers get about two extra hours of buffer, and a run that takes two hours in September can take three or more in an active storm.
Do I need to call you when my flight is delayed?
No. We track the flight and restage the chauffeur automatically. Do tell us if you rebook yourself onto a different flight, because a new flight number saves an hour of guessing.
Should I cancel my reservation if my flight is delayed?
No. Cancelling is the one action that can actually cost you money. The reservation moves with the arrival at no charge.
What if I get in so late the mountain drive is overnight?
We still run it. Night mountain transfers get a longer buffer and, in winter, four-wheel drive on state-approved winter tires.
Do you monitor DEN ground stops and weather?
Yes. Dispatch watches the arrival and the road, and mountain legs are monitored for closures with chauffeurs rerouted mid-trip when the highway shuts.
Is there a fee if my flight is delayed by hours?
No. Delays restage the chauffeur rather than run a meter. The airport wait is included.
Sources
- Federal Aviation Administration — National airspace system status — ground stops, ground delay programs and airport-level delay reporting
- Colorado Department of Transportation — Traction and chain laws — traction law requirements on I-70 during winter storms
Book the ride that survives the schedule change.
Free quote. We watch the flight.
Last reviewed: August 24, 2026 by Arion dispatch. Rates, policies and Colorado Department of Transportation rules are subject to change; call (970) 703-4995 for current details.