Route profile
DAL→SAN
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas to San Diego, 1,182 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 42% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 4,719 flights. How this is calculated
DAL → SAN arrives on time 73.6% of the time; the return trip, SAN → DAL, arrives on time 73.4% of the time.
DAL → SAN spends 17.0 minutes on the ground on a 1,182-mile trip: 12.6 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DAL and 4.4 minutes from touchdown to gate at SAN.
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 99% of 4,023 comparable routes.
91.7% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 54.5% 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 SAN differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DAL to SAN struggles most at 8 PM: 52.8% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 12.5 points behind the 65.3% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 14.6 points.
DAL to SAN is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 8 AM: 91.4% arrive on time, 5.6 points ahead of the 85.8% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 5.5 points.
Friday is the day DAL to SAN slips furthest against routes of similar length, 69.7% on time where they average 75.6%, 5.9 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 6.5 points.
In May, DAL to SAN runs 13.2 points below routes of similar length, 60.9% on time to 74.1%. Against all other routes the gap is 14.4 points.
August is kinder to DAL to SAN than to routes of similar length: 81.5% on time against 74.4%, 7.1 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 5 points.
DAL to SAN against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 8 PM departures | 52.8% | routes of similar length | 65.3% | −12.5 pts | 301 here, 98,517 there |
| Hour: 8 AM departures | 91.4% | routes of similar length | 85.8% | +5.6 pts | 187 here, 140,779 there |
| Weekday: Friday | 69.7% | routes of similar length | 75.6% | −5.9 pts | 723 here, 317,904 there |
| Month: May | 60.9% | routes of similar length | 74.1% | −13.2 pts | 404 here, 176,354 there |
| Month: August | 81.5% | routes of similar length | 74.4% | +7.1 pts | 357 here, 168,637 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 1,182 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 → SAN flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DAL → SAN cancelled 52 of 4,719 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 91. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 71.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 128 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 52 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.
37 cancellations, 71.2% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
9 cancellations, 17.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
6 cancellations, 11.5% 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.
52 coded cancellations were recorded on DAL → SAN; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
45 min late
against a median of 1 min early
Percentiles over 4,719 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at SAN after arriving from DAL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 48% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 25% | High risk |
| 60 min | 15% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.9% | 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 1.10% of the time and diverts 0.45% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 4,646 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 4,719 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DAL → SAN flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.7% of the time, against 54.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 37.2 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 93.0% on time from 622 flights
- 7 AM: 89.9% on time from 392 flights
- 8 AM: 91.4% on time from 192 flights
- 9 AM: 73.9% on time from 183 flights
- 10 AM: 74.0% on time from 237 flights
- 11 AM: 74.5% on time from 439 flights
- 12 PM: 75.9% on time from 244 flights
- 1 PM: 70.9% on time from 280 flights
- 2 PM: 72.8% on time from 137 flights
- 3 PM: 72.9% on time from 223 flights
- 4 PM: 60.2% on time from 361 flights
- 5 PM: 73.3% on time from 261 flights
- 6 PM: 62.2% on time from 218 flights
- 7 PM: 67.4% on time from 267 flights
- 8 PM: 52.8% on time from 307 flights
- 9 PM: 55.4% on time from 266 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DAL → SAN 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 → SAN. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DAL → SAN, at 48.3%: 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 54.5%.
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 | 4,719 | 73.6% | 1.10% | -1 min | 7.0% |
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to San Diego
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→SAN Dallas–Fort Worth to San Diego | 11,019 | 66.3% | 2.16% | 2 min | 38 |
| DAL→SAN this route Dallas to San Diego | 4,719 | 73.6% | 1.10% | -1 min | 63 |
DAL → SAN is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 73.6% on time, against 66.3% for DFW → SAN.
Flying to SAN from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DAL, DFW for SAN, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 9.7 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 81.3%
- Feb: 83.8%
- Mar: 78.6%
- Apr: 70.3%
- May: 60.9%
- Jun: 58.6%
- Jul: 69.3%
- Aug: 81.5%
- Sep: 77.0%
- Oct: 74.6%
- Nov: 77.5%
- Dec: 75.0%
June is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 25.2 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: too few flights to score (117)
- August 2023: 80.2% from 122 flights
- September 2023: too few flights to score (115)
- October 2023: 73.9% from 120 flights
- November 2023: too few flights to score (116)
- December 2023: 85.1% from 121 flights
- January 2024: too few flights to score (112)
- February 2024: too few flights to score (104)
- March 2024: 73.3% from 121 flights
- April 2024: 66.7% from 126 flights
- May 2024: 50.8% from 133 flights
- June 2024: 66.7% from 127 flights
- July 2024: 64.6% from 130 flights
- August 2024: 81.0% from 121 flights
- September 2024: too few flights to score (115)
- October 2024: 74.4% from 131 flights
- November 2024: 75.2% from 133 flights
- December 2024: 66.1% from 137 flights
- January 2025: 80.2% from 127 flights
- February 2025: 88.3% from 121 flights
- March 2025: 80.1% from 137 flights
- April 2025: 73.9% from 137 flights
- May 2025: 61.9% from 141 flights
- June 2025: 59.9% from 137 flights
- July 2025: 72.9% from 141 flights
- August 2025: 83.3% from 120 flights
- September 2025: too few flights to score (116)
- October 2025: 75.4% from 140 flights
- November 2025: 76.8% from 133 flights
- December 2025: 74.3% from 138 flights
- January 2026: 81.5% from 125 flights
- February 2026: 82.8% from 123 flights
- March 2026: 81.6% from 138 flights
- April 2026: 70.0% from 130 flights
- May 2026: 69.9% from 135 flights
- June 2026: 49.6% from 136 flights
- July 2026: 64.8% from 143 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 73.9% against 73.7% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 4,719 DAL → SAN 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