Route profile
DAL→SAT
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas to San Antonio, 247 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 68% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 8,581 flights. How this is calculated
DAL → SAT arrives on time 80.1% of the time; the return trip, SAT → DAL, arrives on time 83.6% of the time, a 3.5-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DAL → SAT spends 16.3 minutes on the ground on a 247-mile trip: 12.2 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DAL and 4.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at SAT.
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 97% of 4,023 comparable routes.
95.2% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 60.2% 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 SAT differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DAL to SAT struggles most at 10 PM: 52.6% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 18.5 points behind the 71.1% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 19.1 points.
DAL to SAT is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 8 AM: 94.7% arrive on time, 8.6 points ahead of the 86.1% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.8 points.
DAL to SAT holds up on Tuesdays better than routes of similar length do: 85.3% on time to their 82.1%, a 3.2 points lead. Against all other routes the gap is 3.7 points.
In May, DAL to SAT runs 6.4 points below routes of similar length, 69.0% on time to 75.4%. Against all other routes the gap is 6.3 points.
February is kinder to DAL to SAT than to routes of similar length: 88.1% on time against 81.9%, 6.2 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 6.7 points.
DAL to SAT against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 10 PM departures | 52.6% | routes of similar length | 71.1% | −18.5 pts | 251 here, 22,046 there |
| Hour: 8 AM departures | 94.7% | routes of similar length | 86.1% | +8.6 pts | 452 here, 50,502 there |
| Weekday: Tuesday | 85.3% | routes of similar length | 82.1% | +3.2 pts | 1,302 here, 96,173 there |
| Month: May | 69.0% | routes of similar length | 75.4% | −6.4 pts | 746 here, 58,433 there |
| Month: February | 88.1% | routes of similar length | 81.9% | +6.2 pts | 629 here, 48,386 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 247 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 → SAT flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DAL → SAT cancelled 95 of 8,581 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 90. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 78.9% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 114 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 95 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.
75 cancellations, 78.9% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
18 cancellations, 18.9% 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, 2.1% 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.
95 coded cancellations were recorded on DAL → SAT; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
37 min late
against a median of 6 min early
Percentiles over 8,581 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at SAT after arriving from DAL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 35% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 5.5% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.0% | 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 1.11% of the time and diverts 0.07% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 8,480 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 37 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 8,581 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DAL → SAT flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 95.2% of the time, against 60.2% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 35.0 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 96.0% on time from 654 flights
- 7 AM: 94.8% on time from 795 flights
- 8 AM: 94.7% on time from 459 flights
- 9 AM: 90.5% on time from 420 flights
- 10 AM: 89.5% on time from 426 flights
- 11 AM: 82.6% on time from 363 flights
- 12 PM: 83.4% on time from 584 flights
- 1 PM: 82.0% on time from 629 flights
- 2 PM: 81.3% on time from 538 flights
- 3 PM: 78.2% on time from 464 flights
- 4 PM: 70.2% on time from 627 flights
- 5 PM: 72.8% on time from 426 flights
- 6 PM: 70.0% on time from 588 flights
- 7 PM: 69.4% on time from 481 flights
- 8 PM: 64.4% on time from 453 flights
- 9 PM: 64.8% on time from 421 flights
- 10 PM: 52.6% on time from 253 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DAL → SAT 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 → SAT. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DAL → SAT, at 58.3%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 95.2% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 60.2%.
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 | 8,581 | 80.1% | 1.11% | -6 min | 5.6% |
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to San Antonio
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→SAT Dallas–Fort Worth to San Antonio | 13,621 | 68.0% | 2.73% | -1 min | 34 |
| DAL→SAT this route Dallas to San Antonio | 8,581 | 80.1% | 1.11% | -6 min | 72 |
DAL → SAT is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 80.1% on time, against 68.0% for DFW → SAT.
Flying to SAT from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DAL, DFW for SAT, 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 Sunday the least, a gap of 9.4 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 82.7%
- Feb: 88.1%
- Mar: 81.3%
- Apr: 79.5%
- May: 69.0%
- Jun: 69.0%
- Jul: 73.5%
- Aug: 82.0%
- Sep: 83.6%
- Oct: 86.6%
- Nov: 84.5%
- Dec: 83.5%
June is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 19.1 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 78.7% from 244 flights
- August 2023: 83.7% from 258 flights
- September 2023: 82.6% from 236 flights
- October 2023: 84.9% from 253 flights
- November 2023: 87.6% from 242 flights
- December 2023: 87.9% from 249 flights
- January 2024: 78.3% from 248 flights
- February 2024: 93.0% from 228 flights
- March 2024: 79.8% from 252 flights
- April 2024: 79.5% from 250 flights
- May 2024: 63.7% from 256 flights
- June 2024: 73.7% from 199 flights
- July 2024: 73.5% from 201 flights
- August 2024: 84.8% from 210 flights
- September 2024: 82.4% from 204 flights
- October 2024: 88.6% from 237 flights
- November 2024: 88.0% from 220 flights
- December 2024: 79.2% from 220 flights
- January 2025: 84.2% from 233 flights
- February 2025: 85.5% from 214 flights
- March 2025: 86.7% from 252 flights
- April 2025: 81.9% from 253 flights
- May 2025: 74.9% from 257 flights
- June 2025: 76.7% from 211 flights
- July 2025: 73.2% from 212 flights
- August 2025: 77.4% from 218 flights
- September 2025: 85.8% from 219 flights
- October 2025: 86.6% from 254 flights
- November 2025: 77.9% from 229 flights
- December 2025: 82.8% from 227 flights
- January 2026: 86.4% from 205 flights
- February 2026: 85.0% from 188 flights
- March 2026: 77.4% from 251 flights
- April 2026: 76.9% from 250 flights
- May 2026: 68.4% from 252 flights
- June 2026: 57.5% from 223 flights
- July 2026: 68.3% from 226 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 77.4% against 82.2% in the 12 months before — declining by 4.8 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 8,581 DAL → SAT 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