Historical on-time performance
Des Moines to St. Louis
259 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DSM–STL arrive on time 89% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate89%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay15 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.6%of scheduled flights
based on 508 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time89%Medianon timep9015 minCancel0.6%Flights508
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline26%
- Weather16%
- Air traffic (NAS)23%
- Late aircraft35%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline0%
- Weather67%
- Air traffic (NAS)33%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 3 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 DSM → STL
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 — 92% on time.
- Mornings92% on time · p90 5 min · 1,002 flights
- Afternoons83% on time · p90 25 min · 290 flights
- Evenings75% on time · p90 35 min · 582 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 79% to 91% on time.
- Tuesdays91% on time · p90 10 min · 288 flights
- Wednesdays88% on time · p90 20 min · 288 flights
- Fridays86% on time · p90 20 min · 286 flights
- Mondays85% on time · p90 20 min · 288 flights
- Saturdays85% on time · p90 25 min · 157 flights · limited
- Thursdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 285 flights
- Sundays79% on time · p90 25 min · 285 flights
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