Historical on-time performance
Washington to Dallas
1,184 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–DAL arrive on time 72% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate72%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay55 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.8%of scheduled flights
based on 1,735 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time72%Medianon timep9055 minCancel1.8%Flights1,735
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline30%
- Weather4%
- Air traffic (NAS)18%
- Late aircraft48%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline16%
- Weather68%
- Air traffic (NAS)16%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 31 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DCA → DAL
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 89% on time.
- Mornings89% on time · p90 10 min · 1,404 flights
- Middays78% on time · p90 30 min · 1,218 flights
- Afternoons71% on time · p90 50 min · 768 flights
- Overnights67% on time · p90 80 min · 798 flights
- Evenings58% on time · p90 75 min · 967 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 68% to 80% on time.
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 506 flights
- Wednesdays77% on time · p90 35 min · 780 flights
- Tuesdays77% on time · p90 40 min · 780 flights
- Thursdays75% on time · p90 40 min · 776 flights
- Mondays74% on time · p90 50 min · 780 flights
- Fridays71% on time · p90 55 min · 783 flights
- Sundays68% on time · p90 50 min · 750 flights
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