Route profile
FLL→DAL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas, 1,108 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 32% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 2,189 flights. How this is calculated
FLL → DAL arrives on time 72.9% of the time; the return trip, DAL → FLL, arrives on time 71.4% of the time.
FLL → DAL spends 23.0 minutes on the ground on a 1,108-mile trip: 17.2 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at FLL and 5.8 minutes from touchdown to gate at DAL.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
On-time performance swings unusually widely by time of day here, wider than 98% of 4,023 comparable routes.
91.2% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 55.4% for 6–9 PM.
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 4,023 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where FLL to DAL differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
FLL to DAL struggles most at 6 PM: 53.2% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 14.1 points behind the 67.3% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 15.4 points.
Sunday is the day FLL to DAL slips furthest against routes of similar length, 65.7% on time where they average 73.1%, 7.4 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 9.1 points.
In January, FLL to DAL runs 14.4 points below routes of similar length, 62.5% on time to 76.9%. Against all other routes the gap is 16.6 points.
Southwest Airlines’ flights on FLL to DAL arrive on time 72.9% of the time, 2.4 points below the 75.3% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 4.5 points.
FLL to DAL against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 6 PM departures | 53.2% | routes of similar length | 67.3% | −14.1 pts | 156 here, 167,657 there |
| Weekday: Sunday | 65.7% | routes of similar length | 73.1% | −7.4 pts | 373 here, 397,751 there |
| Month: January | 62.5% | routes of similar length | 76.9% | −14.4 pts | 160 here, 208,382 there |
| Airline: Southwest Airlines | 72.9% | routes of similar length | 75.3% | −2.4 pts | 2,151 here, 612,119 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 1,108 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
50 min late
against a median of 2 min early
Percentiles over 2,189 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DAL after arriving from FLL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 46% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 26% | High risk |
| 60 min | 16% | High risk |
| 90 min | 8.0% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.9% | 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 1.19% of the time and diverts 0.55% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 2,151 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 50 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 2,189 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
FLL → DAL flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.2% of the time, against 55.4% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 35.8 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 86.9% on time from 138 flights
- 6 AM: 92.5% on time from 476 flights
- 7 AM: 91.4% on time from 187 flights
- 8 AM to 3 PM: too few flights to score
- 4 PM: 58.9% on time from 132 flights
- 5 PM: 63.8% on time from 133 flights
- 6 PM: 53.2% on time from 162 flights
- 7 PM: 55.4% on time from 401 flights
- 8 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why FLL → DAL 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 FLL → DAL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on FLL → DAL, at 49.9%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 91.2% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 55.4%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 2,189 | 72.9% | 1.19% | -2 min | 8.3% |
Other ways to fly Miami to Dallas–Fort Worth
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA→DFW Miami to Dallas–Fort Worth | 14,840 | 71.3% | 1.91% | -2 min | 45 |
| FLL→DAL this route Fort Lauderdale to Dallas | 2,189 | 72.9% | 1.19% | -2 min | 59 |
FLL → DAL is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 72.9% on time, against 71.3% for MIA → DFW.
Flying to DAL from the Miami area? Compare FLL, MIA for DAL, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Thursday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 13.0 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 62.5%
- Feb: 74.1%
- Mar: 67.5%
- Apr: 73.7%
- May: 73.3%
- Jun: 68.9%
- Jul: 68.4%
- Aug: 77.1%
- Sep: 86.1%
- Oct: 79.9%
- Nov: 81.2%
- Dec: 68.3%
January is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 23.6 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 72.0% against 78.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 6.1 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 2,189 FLL → DAL 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