Route profile
LAX→DFW
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Los Angeles to Dallas–Fort Worth, 1,235 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 26% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 20,649 flights. How this is calculated
LAX → DFW arrives on time 76.9% of the time; the return trip, DFW → LAX, arrives on time 72.8% of the time, a 4.1-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
LAX → DFW spends 29.3 minutes on the ground on a 1,235-mile trip: 17.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LAX and 12.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at DFW.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
The airline matters unusually much on this route, a wider carrier-to-carrier gap than 94% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 81.5% of the time, against 61.3% for Frontier Airlines, flying the exact same route.
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 2,692 in the comparison.
Why LAX → DFW flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
LAX → DFW cancelled 333 of 20,649 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 62. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 74.8% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 83 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 333 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.
249 cancellations, 74.8% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
79 cancellations, 23.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
5 cancellations, 1.5% 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.
333 coded cancellations were recorded on LAX → DFW; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
52 min late
against a median of 5 min early
Percentiles over 20,649 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DFW after arriving from LAX.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 39% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 22% | High risk |
| 60 min | 15% | High risk |
| 90 min | 8.6% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.7% | 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 1.61% of the time and diverts 0.50% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 20,212 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 52 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 20,649 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LAX → DFW flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 86.5% of the time, against 68.7% for 12–3 PM departures, a gap of 17.8 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (LAX).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 7.2 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.1 points.
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 60–64
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- 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.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 AM–1 AM | 83.1% on time158 flights | 82.5% on time146 flights | 114 flights, too few to score | 111 flights, too few to score | 84.5% on time151 flights | 83.0% on time151 flights | 84.7% on time122 flights |
| 1 AM–2 AM | 118 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 76 flights, too few to score | 85 flights, too few to score | 117 flights, too few to score | 107 flights, too few to score | 79 flights, too few to score |
| 2 AM–3 AM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 3 AM–4 AM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 4 AM–5 AM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 5 AM–6 AM | 22 flights, too few to score | 18 flights, too few to score | 17 flights, too few to score | 27 flights, too few to score | 22 flights, too few to score | 22 flights, too few to score | 30 flights, too few to score |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 84.0% on time184 flights | 88.3% on time174 flights | 87.4% on time177 flights | 89.7% on time176 flights | 91.3% on time185 flights | 87.0% on time210 flights | 88.3% on time176 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 86.0% on time187 flights | 89.1% on time185 flights | 91.8% on time188 flights | 89.5% on time175 flights | 89.6% on time184 flights | 90.2% on time187 flights | 88.5% on time185 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 79.9% on time277 flights | 87.2% on time268 flights | 87.5% on time269 flights | 84.7% on time305 flights | 86.0% on time286 flights | 81.5% on time262 flights | 81.4% on time304 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 70.7% on time192 flights | 72.6% on time193 flights | 75.5% on time215 flights | 73.0% on time201 flights | 78.7% on time191 flights | 73.2% on time189 flights | 76.1% on time183 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 75.2% on time156 flights | 81.0% on time159 flights | 78.6% on time157 flights | 75.9% on time150 flights | 70.5% on time150 flights | 73.8% on time143 flights | 73.3% on time150 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 99 flights, too few to score | 75.6% on time129 flights | 113 flights, too few to score | 93 flights, too few to score | 98 flights, too few to score | 107 flights, too few to score | 90 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 66.1% on time130 flights | 75.8% on time135 flights | 74.0% on time135 flights | 69.3% on time132 flights | 65.1% on time129 flights | 67.7% on time131 flights | 69.0% on time132 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 62.4% on time167 flights | 70.7% on time169 flights | 72.0% on time169 flights | 68.9% on time168 flights | 64.5% on time168 flights | 71.7% on time149 flights | 66.5% on time170 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 68.0% on time176 flights | 72.4% on time185 flights | 72.1% on time187 flights | 63.3% on time172 flights | 70.0% on time181 flights | 65.4% on time181 flights | 67.9% on time173 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 110 flights, too few to score | 117 flights, too few to score | 78.4% on time127 flights | 110 flights, too few to score | 68.1% on time120 flights | 115 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 67.9% on time192 flights | 77.8% on time172 flights | 77.8% on time164 flights | 74.1% on time202 flights | 71.6% on time188 flights | 67.6% on time176 flights | 65.5% on time203 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 71.6% on time178 flights | 80.3% on time152 flights | 76.8% on time149 flights | 72.9% on time174 flights | 67.8% on time177 flights | 74.3% on time146 flights | 68.8% on time180 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 74.5% on time326 flights | 79.2% on time278 flights | 80.6% on time287 flights | 75.9% on time322 flights | 76.2% on time324 flights | 79.5% on time246 flights | 73.2% on time318 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 106 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score | 61 flights, too few to score | 80 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 86 flights, too few to score | 84 flights, too few to score |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 4 flights, too few to score | 5 flights, too few to score |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 18 flights, too few to score | 17 flights, too few to score | 17 flights, too few to score | 18 flights, too few to score | 18 flights, too few to score | 19 flights, too few to score | 18 flights, too few to score |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 77.5% on time256 flights | 82.6% on time245 flights | 82.7% on time250 flights | 76.3% on time254 flights | 72.9% on time251 flights | 79.3% on time234 flights | 74.7% on time253 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM: 85.2% on time from 953 flights
- 1 AM: 81.8% on time from 678 flights
- 2 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 84.0% on time from 158 flights
- 6 AM: 88.0% on time from 1,282 flights
- 7 AM: 89.2% on time from 1,291 flights
- 8 AM: 84.0% on time from 1,971 flights
- 9 AM: 74.2% on time from 1,364 flights
- 10 AM: 75.5% on time from 1,065 flights
- 11 AM: 73.1% on time from 729 flights
- 12 PM: 69.6% on time from 924 flights
- 1 PM: 68.0% on time from 1,160 flights
- 2 PM: 68.5% on time from 1,255 flights
- 3 PM: 68.6% on time from 815 flights
- 4 PM: 71.5% on time from 1,297 flights
- 5 PM: 72.9% on time from 1,156 flights
- 6 PM: 76.8% on time from 2,101 flights
- 7 PM: 77.0% on time from 573 flights
- 8 PM to 9 PM: too few flights to score
- 10 PM: 38.8% on time from 125 flights
- 11 PM: 78.0% on time from 1,743 flights
Why LAX → 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 LAX → DFW. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LAX → DFW, at 45.1%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 86.5% of the time and 12–3 PM departures 68.7%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is DFW, where the flight lands. Its figure counts departures from DFW, so it says more about how that airport copes than about this route. Bad weather cancels 7.0 times the normal rate at DFW against 1.3 times at LAX. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: LAX 1.0% against 0.8%, DFW 10.4% against 1.5%. Flights that did leave DFW in bad weather arrived on time 56.4% of the time, against 74.4% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | LAX | DFW |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 1.0% | 10.4% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.8% | 1.5% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 78.9% | 56.4% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 81.4% | 74.4% |
| Departures in bad weather | 60,639 | 72,822 |
Of the carriers on this route, American Airlines (0.8% cancelled against 1.1% for the other carriers at LAX) cancelled the fewest departures from LAX in bad weather and Frontier Airlines (3.1% cancelled against 1.0% for the other carriers at LAX) the most.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at LAX
All departures from LAX| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 9,554 | 0.8%below the others | 1.1% |
| Delta Air Lines | 11,619 | 0.9%about level | 1.0% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,995 | 1.8%above the others | 1.0% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,064 | 3.1%above the others | 1.0% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from LAX and DFW, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from LAX on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: LAX (airlines), DFW, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
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 | 14,771 | 76.7% | 1.73% | -5 min | 9.2% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,688 | 79.6% | 1.30% | -9 min | 6.4% |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,232 | 81.5% | 0.90% | -5 min | 6.4% |
| Frontier Airlines | 958 | 61.3% | 2.30% | 3 min | 14.0% |
American Airlines flew 71.5% of the 20,649 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 2.30% of its flights here against 0.90% for Delta Air Lines.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 20.2 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
AA2746 (7:00 AM) arrived on time 89.4% of the time, 7.9 points more often than DL420 (6:59 PM) at 81.5%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Monday the least, a gap of 6.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 78.6%
- Feb: 83.6%
- Mar: 75.7%
- Apr: 78.2%
- May: 71.5%
- Jun: 69.1%
- Jul: 69.0%
- Aug: 73.5%
- Sep: 83.9%
- Oct: 82.6%
- Nov: 79.7%
- Dec: 81.7%
July is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 14.9 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 72.6% from 565 flights
- August 2023: 72.9% from 602 flights
- September 2023: 85.7% from 558 flights
- October 2023: 85.5% from 600 flights
- November 2023: 88.8% from 552 flights
- December 2023: 87.4% from 588 flights
- January 2024: 79.9% from 553 flights
- February 2024: 86.3% from 505 flights
- March 2024: 70.7% from 553 flights
- April 2024: 77.5% from 583 flights
- May 2024: 60.3% from 654 flights
- June 2024: 67.3% from 603 flights
- July 2024: 68.5% from 634 flights
- August 2024: 73.9% from 609 flights
- September 2024: 84.5% from 549 flights
- October 2024: 83.5% from 594 flights
- November 2024: 83.5% from 563 flights
- December 2024: 81.3% from 618 flights
- January 2025: 83.1% from 569 flights
- February 2025: 88.8% from 495 flights
- March 2025: 82.7% from 605 flights
- April 2025: 75.8% from 574 flights
- May 2025: 75.5% from 579 flights
- June 2025: 72.7% from 554 flights
- July 2025: 67.2% from 565 flights
- August 2025: 73.6% from 556 flights
- September 2025: 81.1% from 487 flights
- October 2025: 78.5% from 558 flights
- November 2025: 65.9% from 531 flights
- December 2025: 75.8% from 508 flights
- January 2026: 71.1% from 478 flights
- February 2026: 74.5% from 444 flights
- March 2026: 73.1% from 545 flights
- April 2026: 81.6% from 508 flights
- May 2026: 80.7% from 529 flights
- June 2026: 67.4% from 522 flights
- July 2026: 67.7% from 559 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 74.2% against 79.3% in the 12 months before — declining by 5.1 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 20,649 LAX → 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