Route profile
IAD→DFW
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Washington to Dallas–Fort Worth, 1,172 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 30% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 5,634 flights. How this is calculated
IAD → DFW arrives on time 77.6% of the time; the return trip, DFW → IAD, arrives on time 77.0% of the time.
IAD → DFW spends 34.6 minutes on the ground on a 1,172-mile trip: 19.9 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at IAD and 14.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at DFW.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where IAD to DFW differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
IAD to DFW struggles most at 6 PM: 55.2% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 12.2 points behind the 67.4% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 13.4 points.
IAD to DFW is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 12 PM: 85.2% arrive on time, 7.3 points ahead of the 77.9% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 5.8 points.
Saturday is the day IAD to DFW slips furthest against routes of similar length, 73.1% on time where they average 77.2%, 4.1 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 6 points.
In May, IAD to DFW runs 8 points below routes of similar length, 66.1% on time to 74.1%. Against all other routes the gap is 9.2 points.
March is kinder to IAD to DFW than to routes of similar length: 80.7% on time against 75.5%, 5.2 points better.
IAD to DFW against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 6 PM departures | 55.2% | routes of similar length | 67.4% | −12.2 pts | 194 here, 141,158 there |
| Hour: 12 PM departures | 85.2% | routes of similar length | 77.9% | +7.3 pts | 1,027 here, 134,970 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 73.1% | routes of similar length | 77.2% | −4.1 pts | 683 here, 290,573 there |
| Month: May | 66.1% | routes of similar length | 74.1% | −8.0 pts | 454 here, 179,235 there |
| Month: March | 80.7% | routes of similar length | 75.5% | +5.2 pts | 446 here, 195,302 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 1,172 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 IAD → DFW flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
IAD → DFW cancelled 85 of 5,634 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 66. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 71.8% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 92 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 85 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.
61 cancellations, 71.8% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
20 cancellations, 23.5% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
4 cancellations, 4.7% 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.
85 coded cancellations were recorded on IAD → DFW; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
51 min late
against a median of 7 min early
Percentiles over 5,634 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DFW after arriving from IAD.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 38% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 22% | High risk |
| 60 min | 15% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 8.6% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.8% | 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 1.51% of the time and diverts 0.64% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,513 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 51 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 5,634 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
IAD → DFW flights departing 9 AM–12 PM arrived on time 85.3% of the time, against 56.8% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 28.5 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 84.8% on time from 1,036 flights
- 7 AM: too few flights to score
- 8 AM: 86.1% on time from 860 flights
- 9 AM to 10 AM: too few flights to score
- 11 AM: 84.8% on time from 263 flights
- 12 PM: 85.2% on time from 1,040 flights
- 1 PM to 4 PM: too few flights to score
- 5 PM: 67.7% on time from 1,853 flights
- 6 PM: 55.2% on time from 202 flights
- 7 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why IAD → DFW 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 IAD → DFW. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on IAD → DFW, at 36.5%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 9 AM–12 PM departures arrived on time 85.3% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 56.8%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 2,965 | 78.9% | 0.78% | -6 min | 8.5% |
| American Airlines | 2,449 | 76.0% | 2.25% | -8 min | 8.9% |
| Frontier Airlines | 211 | 77.8% | 3.32% | -8 min | 10.8% |
United Airlines flew 52.7% of the 5,625 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 3.32% of its flights here against 0.78% for United Airlines.
United Airlines arrived on time 2.9 percentage points more often than American Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Washington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA→DFW Washington to Dallas–Fort Worth | 10,255 | 78.8% | 2.65% | -10 min | 55 |
| IAD→DFW this route Washington to Dallas–Fort Worth | 5,634 | 77.6% | 1.51% | -7 min | 58 |
Flying to DFW from the Washington area? Compare IAD, DCA, BWI for DFW, 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 6.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 76.4%
- Feb: 84.0%
- Mar: 80.7%
- Apr: 76.1%
- May: 66.1%
- Jun: 71.7%
- Jul: 70.4%
- Aug: 79.2%
- Sep: 80.3%
- Oct: 87.3%
- Nov: 83.6%
- Dec: 79.4%
May is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 21.2 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 64.2% from 149 flights
- August 2023: 79.6% from 153 flights
- September 2023: 78.1% from 158 flights
- October 2023: 83.3% from 146 flights
- November 2023: 80.3% from 147 flights
- December 2023: 87.8% from 139 flights
- January 2024: 67.9% from 142 flights
- February 2024: 83.8% from 136 flights
- March 2024: 76.4% from 141 flights
- April 2024: 73.6% from 132 flights
- May 2024: 61.1% from 139 flights
- June 2024: 83.1% from 138 flights
- July 2024: 81.7% from 144 flights
- August 2024: 79.0% from 145 flights
- September 2024: 78.1% from 146 flights
- October 2024: 94.3% from 176 flights
- November 2024: 92.2% from 145 flights
- December 2024: 80.8% from 132 flights
- January 2025: 76.2% from 129 flights
- February 2025: 82.2% from 120 flights
- March 2025: 85.2% from 165 flights
- April 2025: 79.1% from 142 flights
- May 2025: 61.0% from 158 flights
- June 2025: 68.3% from 188 flights
- July 2025: 65.7% from 173 flights
- August 2025: 79.0% from 166 flights
- September 2025: 84.0% from 185 flights
- October 2025: 83.6% from 173 flights
- November 2025: 78.4% from 143 flights
- December 2025: 69.6% from 138 flights
- January 2026: 86.2% from 138 flights
- February 2026: 85.7% from 140 flights
- March 2026: 79.9% from 149 flights
- April 2026: 75.5% from 152 flights
- May 2026: 74.6% from 175 flights
- June 2026: 66.7% from 196 flights
- July 2026: 71.0% from 196 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 77.5% against 78.2% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 5,634 IAD → DFW 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