Route profile
DFW→JFK
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas–Fort Worth to New York, 1,391 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 27% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 6,007 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
DFW → JFK arrives on time 77.6% of the time; the return trip, JFK → DFW, arrives on time 76.3% of the time.
DFW → JFK spends 30.4 minutes on the ground on a 1,391-mile trip: 19.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DFW and 11.2 minutes from touchdown to gate at JFK.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where DFW to JFK differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DFW to JFK struggles most at 11 AM: 61.5% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 17.7 points behind the 79.2% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 19.5 points.
Wednesday is the day DFW to JFK slips furthest against routes of similar length, 76.6% on time where they average 80.2%, 3.6 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 4.2 points.
In June, DFW to JFK runs 5 points below routes of similar length, 67.0% on time to 72.0%. Against all other routes the gap is 5.7 points.
November is kinder to DFW to JFK than to routes of similar length: 87.4% on time against 83.1%, 4.3 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 4 points.
Delta Air Lines does better on DFW to JFK than on its routes of similar length: 85.8% on time here, 82.5% there, 3.3 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 4.3 points.
DFW to JFK against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 11 AM departures | 61.5% | routes of similar length | 79.2% | −17.7 pts | 192 here, 100,848 there |
| Weekday: Wednesday | 76.6% | routes of similar length | 80.2% | −3.6 pts | 850 here, 247,232 there |
| Month: June | 67.0% | routes of similar length | 72.0% | −5.0 pts | 522 here, 148,967 there |
| Month: November | 87.4% | routes of similar length | 83.1% | +4.3 pts | 475 here, 141,783 there |
| Airline: Delta Air Lines | 85.8% | routes of similar length | 82.5% | +3.3 pts | 1,844 here, 350,945 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 1,391 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 → JFK flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DFW → JFK cancelled 140 of 6,007 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 43. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 75.0% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 57 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 140 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.
105 cancellations, 75.0% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
25 cancellations, 17.9% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
10 cancellations, 7.1% 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. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
140 coded cancellations were recorded on DFW → JFK; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
53 min late
against a median of 8 min early
DFW → JFK has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 8 min early, but the worst tenth are 61 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 6,007 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at JFK after arriving from DFW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 37% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 22% | High risk |
| 60 min | 15% | High risk |
| 90 min | 8.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.3% | 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 2.33% of the time and diverts 0.57% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,833 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 53 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 6,007 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DFW → JFK flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 88.2% of the time, against 61.1% for 3–6 PM departures, a gap of 27.1 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 6 AM: too few flights to score
- 7 AM: 88.6% on time from 1,394 flights
- 8 AM: 87.3% on time from 860 flights
- 9 AM: 76.2% on time from 422 flights
- 10 AM: too few flights to score
- 11 AM: 61.5% on time from 203 flights
- 12 PM: 77.2% on time from 1,568 flights
- 1 PM: 70.9% on time from 211 flights
- 2 PM: 71.3% on time from 161 flights
- 3 PM: too few flights to score
- 4 PM: 57.3% on time from 617 flights
- 5 PM: 67.4% on time from 371 flights
- 6 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why DFW → JFK 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 → JFK. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DFW → JFK, at 36.3%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 88.2% of the time and 3–6 PM departures 61.1%.
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 | 3,873 | 73.2% | 2.27% | -4 min | 10.7% |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,907 | 85.8% | 2.57% | -14 min | 5.8% |
| Frontier Airlines | 225 | 85.6% | 1.33% | -5 min | 2.7% |
American Airlines flew 64.5% of the 6,005 flights listed. Delta Air Lines cancelled 2.57% of its flights here against 1.33% for Frontier Airlines.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 12.6 percentage points more often than American Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to New York
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→LGA Dallas–Fort Worth to New York | 20,151 | 73.0% | 3.15% | -4 min | 43 |
| DFW→JFK this route Dallas–Fort Worth to New York | 6,007 | 77.6% | 2.33% | -8 min | 56 |
DFW → JFK is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 77.6% on time, against 73.0% for DFW → LGA.
Flying to JFK from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DFW, DAL for JFK, 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.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Saturday the least, a gap of 6.6 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 76.6%
- Feb: 84.9%
- Mar: 77.4%
- Apr: 78.2%
- May: 76.5%
- Jun: 67.0%
- Jul: 66.4%
- Aug: 77.9%
- Sep: 81.1%
- Oct: 85.7%
- Nov: 87.4%
- Dec: 78.7%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 21.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 59.4% from 155 flights
- August 2023: 81.9% from 156 flights
- September 2023: 74.1% from 175 flights
- October 2023: 87.1% from 163 flights
- November 2023: 90.8% from 152 flights
- December 2023: 83.1% from 150 flights
- January 2024: 72.5% from 154 flights
- February 2024: 82.6% from 145 flights
- March 2024: 78.3% from 155 flights
- April 2024: 76.9% from 149 flights
- May 2024: 73.5% from 155 flights
- June 2024: 74.7% from 150 flights
- July 2024: 79.1% from 154 flights
- August 2024: 75.7% from 154 flights
- September 2024: 86.4% from 177 flights
- October 2024: 87.3% from 165 flights
- November 2024: 87.2% from 151 flights
- December 2024: 77.3% from 165 flights
- January 2025: 83.7% from 147 flights
- February 2025: 87.5% from 132 flights
- March 2025: 76.4% from 145 flights
- April 2025: 75.3% from 152 flights
- May 2025: 77.4% from 203 flights
- June 2025: 69.3% from 207 flights
- July 2025: 71.3% from 217 flights
- August 2025: 76.5% from 217 flights
- September 2025: 82.2% from 185 flights
- October 2025: 83.0% from 178 flights
- November 2025: 84.6% from 178 flights
- December 2025: 76.2% from 174 flights
- January 2026: 73.3% from 127 flights
- February 2026: too few flights to score (108)
- March 2026: 77.5% from 122 flights
- April 2026: 82.5% from 143 flights
- May 2026: 78.1% from 180 flights
- June 2026: 57.9% from 180 flights
- July 2026: 54.9% from 187 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 75.5% against 79.0% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.5 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 6,007 DFW → JFK 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