DFW → SNA Flight Reliability

Right now

Origin · DFWNo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated 12:53 UTC

Dallas–Fort Worth airport profile →

Destination · SNANo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated 12:53 UTC

Santa Ana airport profile →

Route reliability

July 2023 – July 2026

Route Reliability Score

64/ 100Good

Better than 44% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)

Calculated from 9,101 flights. How this is calculated

On-time arrivals

79.0%

7,000 of 8,861

Cancellation rate

2.20%

200 cancelled

Median arrival delay

-6 min

Average 5.4 min

Severe delays

6.3%

60+ minutes late

Delay when late

63 min

Average, when 15+ min late

Flights analyzed

9,101

2 carriers

DFW → SNA arrives on time 79.0% of the time; the return trip, SNA → DFW, arrives on time 81.5% of the time, a 2.5-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.

DFW → SNA spends 27.6 minutes on the ground on a 1,205-mile trip: 19.5 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DFW and 8.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at SNA.

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026

What sets this route apart

Where DFW to SNA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.

DFW to SNA is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 9 PM: 84.4% arrive on time, 19.3 points ahead of the 65.1% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 15 points.

DFW to SNA struggles most at 10 AM: 76.2% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 5.1 points behind the 81.3% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 6.5 points.

DFW to SNA holds up on Thursdays better than routes of similar length do: 80.0% on time to their 75.9%, a 4.1 points lead. Against all other routes the gap is 3.2 points.

March is kinder to DFW to SNA than to routes of similar length: 81.9% on time against 75.8%, 6.1 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 4 points.

American Airlines does better on DFW to SNA than on its routes of similar length: 79.3% on time here, 74.7% there, 4.6 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 4.2 points.

DFW to SNA against comparable routes

July 2023 – July 2026

Where DFW to SNA differs most from comparable routes, with the group each figure is compared with and the flights behind it
Measure	This route	Compared with	Them	Gap	Flights behind it
Hour: 9 PM departures	84.4%	routes of similar length	65.1%	+19.3 pts	403 here, 47,635 there
Hour: 10 AM departures	76.2%	routes of similar length	81.3%	−5.1 pts	1,014 here, 105,489 there
Weekday: Thursday	80.0%	routes of similar length	75.9%	+4.1 pts	1,328 here, 289,439 there
Month: March	81.9%	routes of similar length	75.8%	+6.1 pts	744 here, 174,394 there
Airline: American Airlines	79.3%	routes of similar length	74.7%	+4.6 pts	8,544 here, 420,664 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 1,205 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 → SNA flights are cancelled

July 2023 – July 2026

DFW → SNA cancelled 200 of 9,101 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 46. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 90.0% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 51 scheduled flights.

Share of cancellations

Weather90.0%

Airline8.5%

Air traffic1.5%

Security0.0%

Of 200 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.

What each reason means

Extreme weather1 in 51

Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.

180 cancellations, 90.0% of the total.

The airline1 in 535

Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.

17 cancellations, 8.5% of the total.

The air traffic system1 in 3,034

Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.

3 cancellations, 1.5% of the total.

Security—

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.

200 coded cancellations were recorded on DFW → SNA; the section appears from 50.

When it goes wrong

July 2023 – July 2026

One arrival in ten is worse than

40 min late

against a median of 6 min early

Arrived an hour or more late6.3%

Typical delay when late63 min

Cancelled2.20%

Landed somewhere else0.44%

Percentiles over 9,101 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.

Will your connection be tight enough?

Layovers at SNA after arriving from DFW.

Connection buffer and chance of missing by layover length, DFW → SNA arrivals
Connection time	Chance of missing	Reads as
30 min	38%	Likely to miss
45 min	20%	High risk
60 min	13%	Some risk
90 min	6.2%	Some risk
120 min	3.5%	Low 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 2.20% of the time and diverts 0.44% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.

Chance of missing is the share of 8,861 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 40 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 9,101 operations.

Any other layover length: connection checker.

Best time to fly

DFW → SNA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 86.4% of the time, against 70.5% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 15.9 percentage points.

By day and hour

On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (DFW).

Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 5.8 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.1 points.

On-time arrival rate for DFW to SNA by weekday and scheduled departure hour, local time. Each button reads out one slot.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
7 AM–8 AM
8 AM–9 AM
9 AM–10 AM
10 AM–11 AM
11 AM–12 PM
12 PM–1 PM
1 PM–2 PM
2 PM–3 PM
3 PM–4 PM
4 PM–5 PM
5 PM–6 PM
6 PM–7 PM

On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time

60–69
70–79
80–89
90–99

Fewer than 120 flights, not scored

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.

No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures before 7 AM and after 7 PM (1,147 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.

View as tableHide table

On-time arrival rate (%) with flights beneath, by scheduled departure hour and weekday for DFW to SNA. A dash means fewer than 120 flights, which are not scored.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
7 AM–8 AM	87.3% on time166 flights	88.9% on time137 flights	88.4% on time134 flights	94.7% on time156 flights	92.2% on time159 flights	92.8% on time142 flights	79.7% on time151 flights
8 AM–9 AM	81.8% on time165 flights	85.2% on time164 flights	84.4% on time162 flights	85.2% on time163 flights	86.5% on time167 flights	81.1% on time159 flights	83.2% on time163 flights
9 AM–10 AM	46 flights, too few to score	57 flights, too few to score	56 flights, too few to score	51 flights, too few to score	51 flights, too few to score	48 flights, too few to score	55 flights, too few to score
10 AM–11 AM	73.5% on time150 flights	75.7% on time153 flights	78.9% on time144 flights	75.7% on time155 flights	76.4% on time152 flights	79.2% on time128 flights	75.0% on time151 flights
11 AM–12 PM	11 flights, too few to score	10 flights, too few to score	10 flights, too few to score	10 flights, too few to score	11 flights, too few to score	9 flights, too few to score	10 flights, too few to score
12 PM–1 PM	80.1% on time164 flights	86.6% on time159 flights	83.4% on time160 flights	80.0% on time168 flights	77.1% on time169 flights	83.4% on time157 flights	78.3% on time160 flights
1 PM–2 PM	11 flights, too few to score	5 flights, too few to score	8 flights, too few to score	2 flights, too few to score	9 flights, too few to score	5 flights, too few to score	13 flights, too few to score
2 PM–3 PM	73.4% on time176 flights	81.2% on time155 flights	71.4% on time157 flights	79.6% on time156 flights	79.9% on time163 flights	78.8% on time135 flights	76.4% on time181 flights
3 PM–4 PM	2 flights, too few to score	2 flights, too few to score	2 flights, too few to score	6 flights, too few to score	2 flights, too few to score	2 flights, too few to score	2 flights, too few to score
4 PM–5 PM	72.6% on time126 flights	77.0% on time123 flights	75.6% on time124 flights	75.6% on time137 flights	77.6% on time137 flights	106 flights, too few to score	75.6% on time136 flights
5 PM–6 PM	30 flights, too few to score	29 flights, too few to score	26 flights, too few to score	30 flights, too few to score	29 flights, too few to score	30 flights, too few to score	26 flights, too few to score
6 PM–7 PM	64.3% on time128 flights	73.6% on time132 flights	70.7% on time125 flights	74.3% on time122 flights	70.1% on time122 flights	74.4% on time128 flights	65.8% on time121 flights

By departure window

5–9 AM86.4%

9 AM–12 PM77.3%

12–3 PM79.2%

3–6 PM76.0%

6–9 PM70.5%

9 PM–5 AM84.4%

By departure hour

12 AM

3 AM

6 AM

9 AM

12 PM

3 PM

6 PM

9 PM

Why DFW → SNA runs late

July 2023 – July 2026

Late-arriving aircraft42.5%

the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late

The airline35.0%

crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control

Air traffic control13.6%

airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control

Weather8.9%

weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically

Security<0.1%

screening or terminal security incidents

Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DFW → SNA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.

Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DFW → SNA, at 42.5%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 86.4% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 70.5%.

Airlines on this route

Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.

Airlines on this route
Carrier	Flights	On time	Cancelled	Median delay	Severe
American Airlines	8,773	79.3%	2.15%	-6 min	6.3%
Frontier Airlines	328	69.7%	3.35%	1 min	7.6%

American Airlines flew 96.4% of the 9,101 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 3.35% of its flights here against 2.15% for American Airlines.

American Airlines arrived on time 9.6 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.

Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Los Angeles

Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.

Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Los Angeles
Route	Flights	On time	Cancelled	Median delay	Score
DFW→LAX Dallas–Fort Worth to Los Angeles	20,660	72.8%	1.51%	-4 min	54
DFW→SNA this route Dallas–Fort Worth to Santa Ana	9,101	79.0%	2.20%	-6 min	64

DFW → SNA is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 79.0% on time, against 72.8% for DFW → LAX.

Flying to SNA from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DFW, DAL for SNA, 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.

Flights on this route
Flight	Scheduled	Operations	On time
AA348 American Airlines	9:00 PM	748	75.3%
AA806 American Airlines	6:50 PM	621	71.9%

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

Mon76.0%

Tue81.2%

Wed79.4%

Thu80.0%

Fri79.3%

Sat81.5%

Sun76.1%

Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Monday the least, a gap of 5.5 percentage points.

By month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

June is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 13.1 percentage points.

Reliability over time

July 2023 – July 2026

24

25

26

Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 78.0% against 79.1% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.

Data and methodology

Calculated by FlyerIntel from 9,101 DFW → SNA 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

Analysis last recomputed September 26, 2026

DFW airport SNA airport Return direction SNA → DFW

DFW→SNA

Right now

Route reliability

What sets this route apart

DFW to SNA against comparable routes

Why DFW → SNA flights are cancelled

Share of cancellations

What each reason means

When it goes wrong

Will your connection be tight enough?

Best time to fly

By day and hour

By departure window

By departure hour

Why DFW → SNA runs late

Airlines on this route

Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Los Angeles

Flights on this route

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

By month

Reliability over time

Data and methodology