Route profile
DFW→HNL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas–Fort Worth to Honolulu, 3,784 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 16% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 1,975 flights. How this is calculated
DFW → HNL arrives on time 72.3% of the time; the return trip, HNL → DFW, arrives on time 85.4% of the time, a 13.1-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DFW → HNL spends 27.6 minutes on the ground on a 3,784-mile trip: 18.7 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DFW and 8.9 minutes from touchdown to gate at HNL.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route's worst arrivals run unusually far past its typical one, a bigger gap than 94% of 4,598 comparable routes.
A typical arrival is 3 min early, but the worst tenth run 75 minutes worse than that.
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 4,598 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where DFW to HNL differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DFW to HNL struggles most at 11 AM: 71.4% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 6.6 points behind the 78.0% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 9.6 points.
Saturday is the day DFW to HNL slips furthest against routes of similar length, 68.7% on time where they average 80.1%, 11.4 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 10.4 points.
In April, DFW to HNL runs 22.2 points below routes of similar length, 62.2% on time to 84.4%. Against all other routes the gap is 17.7 points.
American Airlines’ flights on DFW to HNL arrive on time 72.3% of the time, 10.7 points below the 83.0% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 2.8 points.
DFW to HNL against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 11 AM departures | 71.4% | routes of similar length | 78.0% | −6.6 pts | 901 here, 518 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 68.7% | routes of similar length | 80.1% | −11.4 pts | 284 here, 2,538 there |
| Month: April | 62.2% | routes of similar length | 84.4% | −22.2 pts | 180 here, 1,125 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 72.3% | routes of similar length | 83.0% | −10.7 pts | 1,958 here, 2,298 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 3,784 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.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
72 min late
against a median of 3 min early
DFW → HNL has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 3 min early, but the worst tenth are 75 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 1,975 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at HNL after arriving from DFW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 44% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 27% | High risk |
| 60 min | 18% | High risk |
| 90 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 8.3% | 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 0.51% of the time and diverts 0.35% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 1,958 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 72 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 1,975 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Why DFW → HNL runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DFW → HNL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
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 | 1,975 | 72.3% | 0.51% | -3 min | 12.0% |
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA115 American Airlines | 9:30 AM | 999 | 74.1% |
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Sunday is historically the most reliable day and Saturday the least, a gap of 7.7 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 66.7%
- Feb: 80.5%
- Mar: 77.4%
- Apr: 62.2%
- May: 64.9%
- Jun: 65.3%
- Jul: 61.1%
- Aug: 71.0%
- Sep: no data
- Oct: 81.6%
- Nov: 82.1%
- Dec: 80.1%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 21.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 68.7% against 70.8% in the 12 months before — declining by 2.1 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 1,975 DFW → HNL 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