Route profile
SEA→DFW
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Seattle to Dallas–Fort Worth, 1,660 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 36% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 15,630 flights. How this is calculated
SEA → DFW arrives on time 76.3% of the time; the return trip, DFW → SEA, arrives on time 71.5% of the time, a 4.8-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
SEA → DFW spends 32.6 minutes on the ground on a 1,660-mile trip: 20.4 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at SEA and 12.2 minutes from touchdown to gate at DFW.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
Why SEA → DFW flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
SEA → DFW cancelled 254 of 15,630 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 62. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 69.7% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 88 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 254 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.
177 cancellations, 69.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
74 cancellations, 29.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
3 cancellations, 1.2% 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.
254 coded cancellations were recorded on SEA → DFW; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 4 min early
Percentiles over 15,630 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DFW after arriving from SEA.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 42% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.7% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.0% | 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 1.63% of the time and diverts 0.70% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 15,266 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 42 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 15,630 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
SEA → DFW flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.4% of the time, against 67.3% for 12–3 PM departures, a gap of 20.1 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (SEA).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 7.4 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.5 points.
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 50–59
- 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.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 AM–1 AM | 82.5% on time148 flights | 76.4% on time128 flights | 87 flights, too few to score | 107 flights, too few to score | 79.1% on time151 flights | 76.3% on time134 flights | 106 flights, too few to score |
| 1 AM–2 AM | 39 flights, too few to score | 44 flights, too few to score | 24 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 26 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 | 91.1% on time150 flights | 89.0% on time147 flights | 89.5% on time148 flights | 91.1% on time149 flights | 89.7% on time149 flights | 89.7% on time150 flights | 92.0% on time154 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 114 flights, too few to score | 108 flights, too few to score | 106 flights, too few to score | 118 flights, too few to score | 115 flights, too few to score | 108 flights, too few to score | 83.6% on time122 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 89.9% on time192 flights | 88.2% on time193 flights | 87.0% on time199 flights | 88.1% on time188 flights | 84.5% on time189 flights | 87.2% on time183 flights | 84.1% on time174 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 100 flights, too few to score | 99 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score | 97 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score | 97 flights, too few to score | 99 flights, too few to score |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 73.0% on time165 flights | 78.8% on time157 flights | 81.1% on time160 flights | 74.5% on time153 flights | 73.1% on time160 flights | 74.5% on time139 flights | 78.6% on time156 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 73.9% on time270 flights | 77.1% on time225 flights | 75.5% on time226 flights | 75.4% on time244 flights | 75.6% on time266 flights | 76.8% on time214 flights | 71.3% on time245 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 70.2% on time176 flights | 70.8% on time183 flights | 70.9% on time178 flights | 70.4% on time173 flights | 64.9% on time173 flights | 65.3% on time169 flights | 67.6% on time175 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 61 flights, too few to score | 55 flights, too few to score | 58 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 33 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 63.2% on time153 flights | 73.9% on time143 flights | 74.0% on time153 flights | 65.6% on time161 flights | 61.4% on time155 flights | 64.1% on time137 flights | 67.1% on time162 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 58 flights, too few to score | 65 flights, too few to score | 53 flights, too few to score | 45 flights, too few to score | 53 flights, too few to score | 49 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 70.8% on time123 flights | 86 flights, too few to score | 104 flights, too few to score | 75.4% on time136 flights | 119 flights, too few to score | 90 flights, too few to score | 72.4% on time132 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 29 flights, too few to score | 27 flights, too few to score | 28 flights, too few to score | 16 flights, too few to score | 29 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 24 flights, too few to score |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 74.0% on time224 flights | 81.0% on time200 flights | 79.5% on time218 flights | 74.1% on time220 flights | 69.2% on time227 flights | 66.3% on time173 flights | 56.1% on time217 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 64.2% on time125 flights | 116 flights, too few to score | 113 flights, too few to score | 117 flights, too few to score | 74.2% on time123 flights | 113 flights, too few to score | 66.1% on time121 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 7 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 | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 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 | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 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 | 45 flights, too few to score | 45 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score | 46 flights, too few to score | 47 flights, too few to score | 43 flights, too few to score | 45 flights, too few to score |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 76.2% on time178 flights | 77.0% on time157 flights | 82.0% on time167 flights | 76.2% on time201 flights | 70.3% on time179 flights | 75.8% on time153 flights | 70.6% on time204 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM: 79.3% on time from 861 flights
- 1 AM: 72.6% on time from 241 flights
- 2 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 90.3% on time from 1,047 flights
- 6 AM: 89.7% on time from 791 flights
- 7 AM: 87.1% on time from 1,318 flights
- 8 AM: 80.9% on time from 692 flights
- 9 AM: 76.3% on time from 1,090 flights
- 10 AM: 75.0% on time from 1,690 flights
- 11 AM: 68.6% on time from 1,227 flights
- 12 PM: 63.8% on time from 393 flights
- 1 PM: 67.0% on time from 1,064 flights
- 2 PM: 72.0% on time from 371 flights
- 3 PM: 75.3% on time from 790 flights
- 4 PM: 73.4% on time from 179 flights
- 5 PM: 71.6% on time from 1,479 flights
- 6 PM: 71.2% on time from 828 flights
- 7 PM to 9 PM: too few flights to score
- 10 PM: 67.6% on time from 319 flights
- 11 PM: 75.2% on time from 1,239 flights
Why SEA → DFW runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
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 SEA → DFW. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
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 1.9 times at SEA. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: SEA 1.5% 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 | SEA | DFW |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 1.5% | 10.4% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.8% | 1.5% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 75.4% | 56.4% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 79.3% | 74.4% |
| Departures in bad weather | 43,416 | 72,822 |
Of the carriers on this route, Delta Air Lines (1.1% cancelled against 1.6% for the other carriers at SEA) cancelled the fewest departures from SEA in bad weather and Alaska Airlines (1.8% cancelled against 1.2% for the other carriers at SEA) the most.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at SEA
All departures from SEA| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 9,020 | 1.1%below the others | 1.6% |
| American Airlines | 1,665 | 1.0%about level | 1.5% |
| Alaska Airlines | 20,261 | 1.8%above the others | 1.2% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from SEA and DFW, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from SEA on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: SEA (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 | 8,420 | 78.7% | 2.04% | -7 min | 7.3% |
| Alaska Airlines | 5,570 | 73.5% | 1.06% | 0 min | 5.5% |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,453 | 76.5% | 1.38% | -6 min | 9.2% |
American Airlines flew 54.5% of the 15,443 flights listed.
American Airlines arrived on time 5.2 percentage points more often than Alaska Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
AA2748 (5:22 AM) arrived on time 90.5% of the time, 18.9 points more often than AS542 (10:54 PM) at 71.6%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 7.9 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 79.2%
- Feb: 84.5%
- Mar: 81.7%
- Apr: 76.4%
- May: 75.2%
- Jun: 68.2%
- Jul: 70.4%
- Aug: 70.1%
- Sep: 77.0%
- Oct: 81.1%
- Nov: 79.0%
- Dec: 79.7%
June is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 16.3 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 75.7% from 386 flights
- August 2023: 69.4% from 426 flights
- September 2023: 78.7% from 387 flights
- October 2023: 80.1% from 421 flights
- November 2023: 82.3% from 362 flights
- December 2023: 88.0% from 332 flights
- January 2024: 75.8% from 320 flights
- February 2024: 82.5% from 302 flights
- March 2024: 79.9% from 333 flights
- April 2024: 77.9% from 316 flights
- May 2024: 69.8% from 399 flights
- June 2024: 74.0% from 450 flights
- July 2024: 71.2% from 520 flights
- August 2024: 68.5% from 528 flights
- September 2024: 72.3% from 484 flights
- October 2024: 81.1% from 489 flights
- November 2024: 75.4% from 424 flights
- December 2024: 78.7% from 445 flights
- January 2025: 84.8% from 405 flights
- February 2025: 83.0% from 356 flights
- March 2025: 80.0% from 425 flights
- April 2025: 66.8% from 419 flights
- May 2025: 76.3% from 472 flights
- June 2025: 61.2% from 495 flights
- July 2025: 64.8% from 505 flights
- August 2025: 72.6% from 476 flights
- September 2025: 80.8% from 430 flights
- October 2025: 82.2% from 442 flights
- November 2025: 79.7% from 411 flights
- December 2025: 74.5% from 455 flights
- January 2026: 76.1% from 397 flights
- February 2026: 88.0% from 344 flights
- March 2026: 85.3% from 386 flights
- April 2026: 84.8% from 414 flights
- May 2026: 78.5% from 482 flights
- June 2026: 70.0% from 491 flights
- July 2026: 71.1% from 501 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 78.1% against 73.9% in the 12 months before — improving by 4.2 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 15,630 SEA → 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