Route profile
DFW→BWI
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas–Fort Worth to Baltimore, 1,217 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 8% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 4,658 flights. How this is calculated
DFW → BWI arrives on time 69.7% of the time; the return trip, BWI → DFW, arrives on time 74.0% of the time, a 4.3-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DFW → BWI spends 26.7 minutes on the ground on a 1,217-mile trip: 19.4 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DFW and 7.3 minutes from touchdown to gate at BWI.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
Every airline on this route performs about the same, a narrower carrier gap than 98% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Frontier Airlines (69.8% on time) and Spirit Airlines (69.3%) are close together here.
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 2,692 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where DFW to BWI differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DFW to BWI struggles most at 1 PM: 61.6% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 13.4 points behind the 75.0% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 15.5 points.
Tuesday is the day DFW to BWI slips furthest against routes of similar length, 70.5% on time where they average 80.6%, 10.1 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 11.1 points.
In April, DFW to BWI runs 12.3 points below routes of similar length, 66.8% on time to 79.1%. Against all other routes the gap is 13.1 points.
American Airlines’ flights on DFW to BWI arrive on time 69.8% of the time, 4.9 points below the 74.7% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 5.3 points.
DFW to BWI against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 1 PM departures | 61.6% | routes of similar length | 75.0% | −13.4 pts | 125 here, 110,286 there |
| Weekday: Tuesday | 70.5% | routes of similar length | 80.6% | −10.1 pts | 559 here, 274,224 there |
| Month: April | 66.8% | routes of similar length | 79.1% | −12.3 pts | 379 here, 169,527 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 69.8% | routes of similar length | 74.7% | −4.9 pts | 2,979 here, 446,010 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 1,217 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 DFW → BWI flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DFW → BWI cancelled 115 of 4,658 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 41. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 77.4% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 52 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 115 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.
89 cancellations, 77.4% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
26 cancellations, 22.6% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
0 cancellations, 0.0% 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. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
115 coded cancellations were recorded on DFW → BWI; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
62 min late
against a median of 2 min early
DFW → BWI has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 2 min early, but the worst tenth are 64 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 4,658 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at BWI after arriving from DFW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 47% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 29% | High risk |
| 60 min | 20% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.1% | Some 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 2.47% of the time and diverts 0.39% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 4,525 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 62 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 4,658 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DFW → BWI flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 83.2% of the time, against 61.7% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 21.5 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 87.2% on time from 161 flights
- 7 AM: too few flights to score
- 8 AM: 82.6% on time from 452 flights
- 9 AM: too few flights to score
- 10 AM: 82.2% on time from 833 flights
- 11 AM to 12 PM: too few flights to score
- 1 PM: 61.6% on time from 128 flights
- 2 PM: 64.5% on time from 866 flights
- 3 PM: 58.4% on time from 219 flights
- 4 PM: 73.2% on time from 140 flights
- 5 PM: 60.3% on time from 132 flights
- 6 PM: 58.4% on time from 231 flights
- 7 PM: 61.2% on time from 1,058 flights
- 8 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why DFW → BWI 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 DFW → BWI. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DFW → BWI, at 45.1%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 83.2% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 61.7%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 3,072 | 69.8% | 2.60% | -2 min | 10.2% |
| Frontier Airlines | 801 | 69.8% | 3.25% | -1 min | 11.0% |
| Spirit Airlines | 782 | 69.3% | 1.15% | 0 min | 12.5% |
American Airlines flew 66.0% of the 4,655 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 3.25% of its flights here against 1.15% for Spirit Airlines.
Carriers on this route performed within a couple of percentage points of each other.
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Washington
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→DCA Dallas–Fort Worth to Washington | 10,254 | 74.5% | 2.56% | -4 min | 52 |
| DFW→BWI this route Dallas–Fort Worth to Baltimore | 4,658 | 69.7% | 2.47% | -2 min | 45 |
DFW → DCA is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 74.5% on time, against 69.7% for DFW → BWI.
Flying to BWI from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DFW, DAL for BWI, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA2251 American Airlines | 7:45 PM | 1,090 | 61.4% |
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Monday the least, a gap of 5.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 69.3%
- Feb: 80.1%
- Mar: 66.0%
- Apr: 66.8%
- May: 64.9%
- Jun: 60.2%
- Jul: 61.4%
- Aug: 71.6%
- Sep: 73.2%
- Oct: 80.9%
- Nov: 76.2%
- Dec: 73.7%
June is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 20.7 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 66.2% from 139 flights
- August 2023: 78.9% from 142 flights
- September 2023: 76.5% from 138 flights
- October 2023: 86.6% from 134 flights
- November 2023: 78.8% from 146 flights
- December 2023: 79.8% from 129 flights
- January 2024: too few flights to score (114)
- February 2024: too few flights to score (119)
- March 2024: 59.3% from 151 flights
- April 2024: 66.0% from 148 flights
- May 2024: 58.1% from 152 flights
- June 2024: 66.2% from 150 flights
- July 2024: 66.2% from 150 flights
- August 2024: 66.2% from 145 flights
- September 2024: too few flights to score (111)
- October 2024: too few flights to score (115)
- November 2024: 76.4% from 123 flights
- December 2024: too few flights to score (112)
- January 2025: too few flights to score (111)
- February 2025: too few flights to score (104)
- March 2025: 78.7% from 142 flights
- April 2025: 59.3% from 127 flights
- May 2025: 65.9% from 133 flights
- June 2025: 51.8% from 144 flights
- July 2025: 54.5% from 143 flights
- August 2025: 69.3% from 120 flights
- September 2025: too few flights to score (106)
- October 2025: too few flights to score (109)
- November 2025: too few flights to score (107)
- December 2025: too few flights to score (119)
- January 2026: too few flights to score (95)
- February 2026: too few flights to score (81)
- March 2026: too few flights to score (99)
- April 2026: too few flights to score (116)
- May 2026: 71.8% from 121 flights
- June 2026: too few flights to score (113)
- July 2026: 58.3% from 150 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 69.5% against 68.4% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 4,658 DFW → BWI 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