Route profile
DAL→PHX
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas to Phoenix, 879 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 49% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 9,271 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
DAL → PHX arrives on time 77.4% of the time; the return trip, PHX → DAL, arrives on time 79.6% of the time, a 2.2-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DAL → PHX spends 18.8 minutes on the ground on an 879-mile trip: 12.8 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DAL and 6.0 minutes from touchdown to gate at PHX.
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.
92.9% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 60.7% for 6–9 PM.
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 PHX differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DAL to PHX struggles most at 6 PM: 60.3% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 7.7 points behind the 68.0% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.3 points.
DAL to PHX is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 1 PM: 83.5% arrive on time, 6.5 points ahead of the 77.0% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 6.4 points.
Thursday is the day DAL to PHX slips furthest against routes of similar length, 71.9% on time where they average 76.5%, 4.6 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 4.9 points.
August is kinder to DAL to PHX than to routes of similar length: 85.9% on time against 75.1%, 10.8 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 9.4 points.
In June, DAL to PHX runs 9.4 points below routes of similar length, 62.4% on time to 71.8%. Against all other routes the gap is 10.3 points.
DAL to PHX against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 6 PM departures | 60.3% | routes of similar length | 68.0% | −7.7 pts | 673 here, 175,036 there |
| Hour: 1 PM departures | 83.5% | routes of similar length | 77.0% | +6.5 pts | 626 here, 160,487 there |
| Weekday: Thursday | 71.9% | routes of similar length | 76.5% | −4.6 pts | 1,361 here, 406,479 there |
| Month: August | 85.9% | routes of similar length | 75.1% | +10.8 pts | 687 here, 222,080 there |
| Month: June | 62.4% | routes of similar length | 71.8% | −9.4 pts | 695 here, 225,464 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 879 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 → PHX flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DAL → PHX cancelled 147 of 9,271 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 63. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 53.7% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 117 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 147 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.
79 cancellations, 53.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
56 cancellations, 38.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
12 cancellations, 8.2% 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.
147 coded cancellations were recorded on DAL → PHX; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
40 min late
against a median of 4 min early
Percentiles over 9,271 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at PHX after arriving from DAL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 40% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 22% | High risk |
| 60 min | 13% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.2% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.5% | 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 1.59% of the time and diverts 0.09% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 9,116 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 40 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 9,271 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DAL → PHX flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 92.9% of the time, against 60.7% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 32.2 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 95.7% on time from 901 flights
- 7 AM: 92.0% on time from 620 flights
- 8 AM: 89.2% on time from 515 flights
- 9 AM: 90.0% on time from 414 flights
- 10 AM: 83.6% on time from 559 flights
- 11 AM: 85.2% on time from 544 flights
- 12 PM: 81.3% on time from 597 flights
- 1 PM: 83.5% on time from 633 flights
- 2 PM: 77.9% on time from 560 flights
- 3 PM: 71.9% on time from 377 flights
- 4 PM: 68.5% on time from 669 flights
- 5 PM: 66.8% on time from 472 flights
- 6 PM: 60.3% on time from 684 flights
- 7 PM: 60.2% on time from 561 flights
- 8 PM: 61.5% on time from 546 flights
- 9 PM: 64.6% on time from 341 flights
- 10 PM: 64.1% on time from 278 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DAL → PHX 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 → PHX. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DAL → PHX, at 56.4%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 92.9% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 60.7%.
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 | 9,271 | 77.4% | 1.59% | -4 min | 6.4% |
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Phoenix
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→PHX Dallas–Fort Worth to Phoenix | 16,011 | 71.1% | 1.76% | -1 min | 48 |
| DAL→PHX this route Dallas to Phoenix | 9,271 | 77.4% | 1.59% | -4 min | 65 |
DAL → PHX is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 77.4% on time, against 71.1% for DFW → PHX.
Flying to PHX from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DAL, DFW for PHX, 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: 81.1%
- Feb: 85.5%
- Mar: 80.6%
- Apr: 76.5%
- May: 66.0%
- Jun: 62.4%
- Jul: 72.4%
- Aug: 85.9%
- Sep: 78.4%
- Oct: 80.1%
- Nov: 79.6%
- Dec: 81.6%
June is historically the weakest month and August the strongest, a spread of 23.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 78.5% from 234 flights
- August 2023: 87.6% from 255 flights
- September 2023: 78.0% from 253 flights
- October 2023: 77.7% from 271 flights
- November 2023: 87.2% from 259 flights
- December 2023: 82.8% from 270 flights
- January 2024: 80.6% from 254 flights
- February 2024: 81.8% from 232 flights
- March 2024: 75.1% from 258 flights
- April 2024: 77.7% from 268 flights
- May 2024: 60.4% from 283 flights
- June 2024: 68.1% from 257 flights
- July 2024: 75.7% from 262 flights
- August 2024: 86.2% from 232 flights
- September 2024: 81.1% from 222 flights
- October 2024: 88.1% from 278 flights
- November 2024: 80.7% from 271 flights
- December 2024: 77.3% from 272 flights
- January 2025: 82.1% from 264 flights
- February 2025: 90.9% from 234 flights
- March 2025: 82.6% from 271 flights
- April 2025: 81.2% from 266 flights
- May 2025: 70.6% from 275 flights
- June 2025: 64.0% from 229 flights
- July 2025: 74.1% from 228 flights
- August 2025: 83.4% from 208 flights
- September 2025: 75.9% from 203 flights
- October 2025: 74.0% from 259 flights
- November 2025: 70.7% from 263 flights
- December 2025: 84.6% from 276 flights
- January 2026: 80.6% from 229 flights
- February 2026: 83.8% from 223 flights
- March 2026: 84.0% from 266 flights
- April 2026: 70.3% from 250 flights
- May 2026: 67.1% from 256 flights
- June 2026: 54.2% from 219 flights
- July 2026: 60.1% from 221 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 74.2% against 80.0% in the 12 months before — declining by 5.8 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 9,271 DAL → PHX 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