Route profile
DFW→MCI
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas–Fort Worth to Kansas City, 460 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 4% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 7,746 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
DFW → MCI arrives on time 69.6% of the time; the return trip, MCI → DFW, arrives on time 74.9% of the time, a 5.3-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DFW → MCI spends 25.0 minutes on the ground on a 460-mile trip: 18.4 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DFW and 6.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at MCI.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
Reliability here swings unusually widely by season, a wider month-to-month spread than 98% of 3,357 comparable routes.
82.1% on time in a typical February, against 53.4% in July.
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 3,357 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where DFW to MCI differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DFW to MCI struggles most at 8 PM: 52.9% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 14.5 points behind the 67.4% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 14.5 points.
Tuesday is the day DFW to MCI slips furthest against routes of similar length, 71.8% on time where they average 82.5%, 10.7 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 9.8 points.
In June, DFW to MCI runs 19.3 points below routes of similar length, 54.2% on time to 73.5%. Against all other routes the gap is 18.5 points.
American Airlines’ flights on DFW to MCI arrive on time 66.5% of the time, 8.1 points below the 74.6% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 8.6 points.
Envoy Air does better on DFW to MCI than on its routes of similar length: 86.2% on time here, 78.9% there, 7.3 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 7.1 points.
DFW to MCI against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 8 PM departures | 52.9% | routes of similar length | 67.4% | −14.5 pts | 469 here, 76,900 there |
| Weekday: Tuesday | 71.8% | routes of similar length | 82.5% | −10.7 pts | 1,035 here, 219,935 there |
| Month: June | 54.2% | routes of similar length | 73.5% | −19.3 pts | 638 here, 130,293 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 66.5% | routes of similar length | 74.6% | −8.1 pts | 6,175 here, 193,388 there |
| Airline: Envoy Air | 86.2% | routes of similar length | 78.9% | +7.3 pts | 1,109 here, 33,296 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 460 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 → MCI flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DFW → MCI cancelled 196 of 7,746 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 40. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 89.3% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 44 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 196 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.
175 cancellations, 89.3% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
15 cancellations, 7.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
6 cancellations, 3.1% 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.
196 coded cancellations were recorded on DFW → MCI; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
71 min late
against a median of 1 min early
DFW → MCI has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 1 min early, but the worst tenth are 72 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 7,746 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at MCI after arriving from DFW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 47% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 30% | High risk |
| 60 min | 21% | High risk |
| 90 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 7.2% | 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 2.53% of the time and diverts 0.17% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 7,537 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 71 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 7,746 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DFW → MCI flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 83.4% of the time, against 54.9% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 28.5 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 6 AM: too few flights to score
- 7 AM: 83.6% on time from 929 flights
- 8 AM: 83.1% on time from 893 flights
- 9 AM: 74.9% on time from 251 flights
- 10 AM: 79.1% on time from 462 flights
- 11 AM: 76.0% on time from 272 flights
- 12 PM: 75.5% on time from 404 flights
- 1 PM: 69.5% on time from 461 flights
- 2 PM: 75.4% on time from 358 flights
- 3 PM: 69.5% on time from 669 flights
- 4 PM: 60.2% on time from 169 flights
- 5 PM: 59.4% on time from 788 flights
- 6 PM: too few flights to score
- 7 PM: 57.2% on time from 536 flights
- 8 PM: 52.9% on time from 484 flights
- 9 PM: 57.1% on time from 885 flights
- 10 PM: 60.9% on time from 179 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DFW → MCI 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 → MCI. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DFW → MCI, at 53.9%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 83.4% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 54.9%.
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 | 6,340 | 66.5% | 2.44% | 1 min | 13.7% |
| Envoy Air | 1,131 | 86.2% | 1.86% | -10 min | 3.7% |
American Airlines flew 84.9% of the 7,471 flights listed.
Envoy Air arrived on time 19.7 percentage points more often than American Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA2267 American Airlines | 7:45 PM | 1,024 | 55.3% |
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 6.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 73.9%
- Feb: 82.1%
- Mar: 70.6%
- Apr: 70.6%
- May: 64.2%
- Jun: 54.2%
- Jul: 53.4%
- Aug: 66.1%
- Sep: 76.9%
- Oct: 81.3%
- Nov: 77.6%
- Dec: 73.6%
July is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 28.7 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 50.0% from 203 flights
- August 2023: 62.9% from 213 flights
- September 2023: 77.1% from 189 flights
- October 2023: 81.2% from 204 flights
- November 2023: 83.1% from 189 flights
- December 2023: 83.6% from 177 flights
- January 2024: 69.0% from 191 flights
- February 2024: 83.4% from 193 flights
- March 2024: 70.0% from 192 flights
- April 2024: 70.4% from 204 flights
- May 2024: 57.5% from 232 flights
- June 2024: 53.4% from 212 flights
- July 2024: 47.0% from 220 flights
- August 2024: 75.7% from 236 flights
- September 2024: 80.9% from 215 flights
- October 2024: 85.5% from 236 flights
- November 2024: 83.6% from 212 flights
- December 2024: 76.4% from 210 flights
- January 2025: 79.3% from 198 flights
- February 2025: 78.2% from 195 flights
- March 2025: 70.8% from 207 flights
- April 2025: 64.4% from 204 flights
- May 2025: 63.5% from 215 flights
- June 2025: 46.8% from 231 flights
- July 2025: 51.7% from 240 flights
- August 2025: 58.9% from 227 flights
- September 2025: 72.5% from 217 flights
- October 2025: 77.1% from 229 flights
- November 2025: 66.8% from 217 flights
- December 2025: 62.7% from 215 flights
- January 2026: 73.9% from 173 flights
- February 2026: 85.0% from 167 flights
- March 2026: 70.9% from 208 flights
- April 2026: 76.6% from 206 flights
- May 2026: 72.0% from 218 flights
- June 2026: 63.0% from 222 flights
- July 2026: 64.0% from 229 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 69.9% against 71.1% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 7,746 DFW → MCI 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