Route profile
DAL→BNA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas to Nashville, 623 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 46% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 7,483 flights. How this is calculated
DAL → BNA arrives on time 76.2% of the time; the return trip, BNA → DAL, arrives on time 79.2% of the time, a 3.0-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DAL → BNA spends 19.8 minutes on the ground on a 623-mile trip: 13.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DAL and 6.7 minutes from touchdown to gate at BNA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
On-time performance swings unusually widely by time of day here, wider than 94% of 4,023 comparable routes.
91.7% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 59.3% for 9 PM–5 AM.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 4,023 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where DAL to BNA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DAL to BNA struggles most at 9 PM: 56.2% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 11.5 points behind the 67.7% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 13.3 points.
DAL to BNA is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 6 AM: 96.2% arrive on time, 5.3 points ahead of the 90.9% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 5.4 points.
Thursday is the day DAL to BNA slips furthest against routes of similar length, 71.1% on time where they average 77.1%, 6 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 5.7 points.
In June, DAL to BNA runs 11.2 points below routes of similar length, 61.5% on time to 72.7%. Against all other routes the gap is 11.2 points.
August is kinder to DAL to BNA than to routes of similar length: 84.0% on time against 76.6%, 7.4 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 7.5 points.
DAL to BNA against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 9 PM departures | 56.2% | routes of similar length | 67.7% | −11.5 pts | 381 here, 69,339 there |
| Hour: 6 AM departures | 96.2% | routes of similar length | 90.9% | +5.3 pts | 367 here, 147,126 there |
| Weekday: Thursday | 71.1% | routes of similar length | 77.1% | −6.0 pts | 1,106 here, 304,305 there |
| Month: June | 61.5% | routes of similar length | 72.7% | −11.2 pts | 610 here, 169,525 there |
| Month: August | 84.0% | routes of similar length | 76.6% | +7.4 pts | 599 here, 171,413 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 623 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why DAL → BNA flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DAL → BNA cancelled 93 of 7,483 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 80. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 82.8% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 97 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 93 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
77 cancellations, 82.8% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
14 cancellations, 15.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
2 cancellations, 2.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
93 coded cancellations were recorded on DAL → BNA; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
45 min late
against a median of 2 min early
Percentiles over 7,483 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at BNA after arriving from DAL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 44% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.6% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.24% of the time and diverts 0.19% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 7,376 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 45 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 7,483 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DAL → BNA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.7% of the time, against 59.3% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 32.4 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 96.2% on time from 368 flights
- 7 AM: 91.1% on time from 759 flights
- 8 AM: 89.8% on time from 624 flights
- 9 AM: 86.2% on time from 374 flights
- 10 AM: 83.5% on time from 430 flights
- 11 AM: 82.8% on time from 375 flights
- 12 PM: 75.8% on time from 461 flights
- 1 PM: 75.8% on time from 441 flights
- 2 PM: 73.3% on time from 293 flights
- 3 PM: 70.5% on time from 498 flights
- 4 PM: 65.3% on time from 420 flights
- 5 PM: 64.3% on time from 551 flights
- 6 PM: 69.2% on time from 414 flights
- 7 PM: 67.8% on time from 638 flights
- 8 PM: 63.5% on time from 224 flights
- 9 PM: 56.2% on time from 387 flights
- 10 PM: 64.6% on time from 226 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DAL → BNA runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DAL → BNA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DAL → BNA, at 54.2%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 91.7% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 59.3%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 7,483 | 76.2% | 1.24% | -2 min | 6.8% |
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Nashville
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→BNA Dallas–Fort Worth to Nashville | 10,715 | 67.8% | 2.82% | 0 min | 36 |
| DAL→BNA this route Dallas to Nashville | 7,483 | 76.2% | 1.24% | -2 min | 64 |
DAL → BNA is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 76.2% on time, against 67.8% for DFW → BNA.
Flying to BNA from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DAL, DFW for BNA, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Thursday the least, a gap of 12.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 83.9%
- Feb: 86.1%
- Mar: 76.1%
- Apr: 72.3%
- May: 65.7%
- Jun: 61.5%
- Jul: 70.1%
- Aug: 84.0%
- Sep: 84.3%
- Oct: 77.1%
- Nov: 78.9%
- Dec: 79.7%
June is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 24.6 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 76.1% from 180 flights
- August 2023: 86.2% from 195 flights
- September 2023: 81.2% from 197 flights
- October 2023: 80.1% from 218 flights
- November 2023: 78.7% from 203 flights
- December 2023: 83.4% from 211 flights
- January 2024: 79.0% from 180 flights
- February 2024: 91.3% from 162 flights
- March 2024: 80.4% from 194 flights
- April 2024: 77.9% from 200 flights
- May 2024: 65.0% from 204 flights
- June 2024: 73.7% from 199 flights
- July 2024: 78.5% from 206 flights
- August 2024: 86.9% from 207 flights
- September 2024: 84.3% from 199 flights
- October 2024: 82.4% from 224 flights
- November 2024: 81.3% from 215 flights
- December 2024: 74.0% from 215 flights
- January 2025: 88.0% from 195 flights
- February 2025: 84.6% from 178 flights
- March 2025: 80.5% from 218 flights
- April 2025: 73.8% from 213 flights
- May 2025: 71.2% from 219 flights
- June 2025: 60.6% from 209 flights
- July 2025: 67.3% from 209 flights
- August 2025: 78.8% from 199 flights
- September 2025: 87.5% from 193 flights
- October 2025: 68.4% from 212 flights
- November 2025: 76.5% from 204 flights
- December 2025: 81.9% from 211 flights
- January 2026: 84.2% from 186 flights
- February 2026: 82.8% from 170 flights
- March 2026: 67.3% from 206 flights
- April 2026: 65.2% from 200 flights
- May 2026: 60.9% from 209 flights
- June 2026: 50.5% from 207 flights
- July 2026: 60.3% from 236 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 71.5% against 77.7% in the 12 months before — declining by 6.2 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 7,483 DAL → BNA flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed