Route profile
DFW→CHS
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas–Fort Worth to Charleston, 987 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 3,795 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
DFW → CHS arrives on time 70.3% of the time; the return trip, CHS → DFW, arrives on time 78.2% of the time, a 7.9-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DFW → CHS spends 26.4 minutes on the ground on a 987-mile trip: 19.0 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DFW and 7.4 minutes from touchdown to gate at CHS.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where DFW to CHS differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DFW to CHS struggles most at 11 AM: 71.7% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 8.7 points behind the 80.4% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 9.3 points.
Wednesday is the day DFW to CHS slips furthest against routes of similar length, 70.2% on time where they average 79.8%, 9.6 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 10.6 points.
In March, DFW to CHS runs 16.5 points below routes of similar length, 59.4% on time to 75.9%. Against all other routes the gap is 18.5 points.
American Airlines’ flights on DFW to CHS arrive on time 67.9% of the time, 6.1 points below the 74.0% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 7.2 points.
DFW to CHS against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 11 AM departures | 71.7% | routes of similar length | 80.4% | −8.7 pts | 598 here, 203,964 there |
| Weekday: Wednesday | 70.2% | routes of similar length | 79.8% | −9.6 pts | 506 here, 420,111 there |
| Month: March | 59.4% | routes of similar length | 75.9% | −16.5 pts | 281 here, 268,632 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 67.9% | routes of similar length | 74.0% | −6.1 pts | 2,971 here, 576,560 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 987 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.
DFW to CHS in context
This route against DFW and CHS as a whole, against similar routes from DFW, and against its own first year, July 2023 – July 2026.
Leaving DFW, DFW to CHS is on time 70.3% of the time, 2.8 points worse than the airport’s other departures at DFW (73.1%, from 933,411 flights).
Arriving at CHS, DFW to CHS is on time 70.3% of the time, 7.8 points worse than the airport’s other arrivals at CHS (78.1%, from 72,069 flights).
Of the 3,579 flights scheduled in hours with at least 120 flights, 7 PM is the busiest hour with 691 (19.3%), 62.7% of them on time, and 8 PM the quietest with 222 (6.2%), 59.6% of them on time.
Airport comparisons take this route’s flights out of the airport total. Length means within 15% of this route’s distance, with at least 3 other routes from the same origin. On-time gaps are stated at 2 points and 2 standard errors, cancellation gaps at 0.5 points and 2 standard errors, and every group needs 750 flights. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why DFW → CHS flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DFW → CHS cancelled 85 of 3,795 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 45. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 94.1% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 47 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 85 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.
80 cancellations, 94.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
3 cancellations, 3.5% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
2 cancellations, 2.4% 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.
85 coded cancellations were recorded on DFW → CHS; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
67 min late
against a median of 2 min early
DFW → CHS has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 2 min early, but the worst tenth are 69 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 3,795 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at CHS after arriving from DFW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 46% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 29% | High risk |
| 60 min | 20% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.4% | 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 2.24% of the time and diverts 0.26% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 3,700 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 67 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 3,795 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DFW → CHS flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 85.3% of the time, against 62.9% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 22.4 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 7 AM: too few flights to score
- 8 AM: 85.4% on time from 407 flights
- 9 AM: too few flights to score
- 10 AM: 79.5% on time from 498 flights
- 11 AM: 71.7% on time from 610 flights
- 12 PM to 1 PM: too few flights to score
- 2 PM: 65.5% on time from 469 flights
- 3 PM: 64.7% on time from 374 flights
- 4 PM to 5 PM: too few flights to score
- 6 PM: 65.9% on time from 308 flights
- 7 PM: 62.7% on time from 691 flights
- 8 PM: 59.6% on time from 222 flights
- 9 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why DFW → CHS 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 → CHS. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DFW → CHS, at 51.7%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 85.3% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 62.9%.
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 | 3,051 | 67.9% | 2.36% | 0 min | 12.4% |
| Envoy Air | 452 | 84.7% | 1.55% | -9 min | 4.0% |
| PSA Airlines | 245 | 71.4% | 2.04% | -4 min | 15.5% |
American Airlines flew 81.4% of the 3,748 flights listed.
Envoy Air arrived on time 16.8 percentage points more often than American Airlines on this route.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 10.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 78.6%
- Feb: 74.0%
- Mar: 59.4%
- Apr: 68.2%
- May: 64.9%
- Jun: 61.4%
- Jul: 66.2%
- Aug: 66.8%
- Sep: 71.3%
- Oct: 81.8%
- Nov: 80.6%
- Dec: 80.3%
March is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 22.4 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 70.9% from 128 flights
- August 2023: too few flights to score (109)
- September 2023: too few flights to score (104)
- October 2023: too few flights to score (90)
- November 2023: too few flights to score (84)
- December 2023: too few flights to score (79)
- January 2024: too few flights to score (80)
- February 2024: too few flights to score (81)
- March 2024: too few flights to score (93)
- April 2024: too few flights to score (113)
- May 2024: 61.9% from 123 flights
- June 2024: too few flights to score (117)
- July 2024: 67.6% from 148 flights
- August 2024: too few flights to score (97)
- September 2024: too few flights to score (96)
- October 2024: too few flights to score (112)
- November 2024: too few flights to score (86)
- December 2024: too few flights to score (99)
- January 2025: too few flights to score (81)
- February 2025: too few flights to score (68)
- March 2025: too few flights to score (88)
- April 2025: too few flights to score (86)
- May 2025: too few flights to score (119)
- June 2025: 56.4% from 142 flights
- July 2025: 66.2% from 148 flights
- August 2025: too few flights to score (84)
- September 2025: too few flights to score (68)
- October 2025: too few flights to score (91)
- November 2025: too few flights to score (108)
- December 2025: too few flights to score (109)
- January 2026: too few flights to score (99)
- February 2026: too few flights to score (75)
- March 2026: too few flights to score (106)
- April 2026: too few flights to score (114)
- May 2026: 70.3% from 121 flights
- June 2026: 62.9% from 124 flights
- July 2026: 60.0% from 125 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 70.4% against 71.1% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 3,795 DFW → CHS 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