Best time to fly out of Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Dallas Fort Worth: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 88.5% of the time, against 63.8% in the 6–8pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 87 | 89 | 89 | 92 | 88 | 87 | 87 |
| 6–8am | 85 | 86 | 86 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 85 |
| 8–10am | 81 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 82 |
| 10am–12pm | 75 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 78 | 76 | 76 |
| 12–2pm | 73 | 78 | 77 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 72 |
| 2–4pm | 69 | 73 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 70 | 67 |
| 4–6pm | 67 | 72 | 71 | 68 | 67 | 68 | 64 |
| 6–8pm | 63 | 69 | 67 | 63 | 63 | 64 | 59 |
| 8–10pm | 64 | 71 | 69 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 59 |
| 10pm–12am | 65 | 71 | 70 | 66 | 66 | 62 | 61 |
The steadiest stretch at DFW was Before 6am — 88.5% of departures left on time across 12,086 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 63.8%. 6–8am departures from DFW left on time 85.8% of the time across 73,565 flights; 6–8pm departures, 63.8% across 125,400. That is a gap of 22 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at DFW
June was the hard month at DFW: 62.8% of departures left on time, across 83,729 flights. October was the easy one at 79.5%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73.4% | 72,923 |
| February | 79.1% | 67,567 |
| March | 72.4% | 78,670 |
| April | 72.5% | 76,286 |
| May | 66.8% | 81,708 |
| June | 62.8% | 83,729 |
| July | 65.4% | 84,053 |
| August | 71% | 81,361 |
| September | 78.9% | 76,372 |
| October | 79.5% | 80,829 |
| November | 79% | 74,299 |
| December | 75.5% | 75,298 |
Airlines at DFW
Every airline with at least 100 departures from DFW, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 66.7% | 73 min | 2.3% | 495,922 |
| Envoy Air | 82.9% | 55 min | 2% | 196,324 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.8% | 80 min | 2.8% | 76,294 |
| PSA Airlines | 75% | 96 min | 4.1% | 41,863 |
| Delta Air Lines | 80.4% | 90 min | 1.5% | 35,712 |
| Frontier Airlines | 71.8% | 81 min | 2.4% | 28,254 |
| United Airlines | 80.3% | 93 min | 1.6% | 27,147 |
| Spirit Airlines | 73.3% | 67 min | 1.5% | 23,318 |
| Alaska Airlines | 72.5% | 59 min | 1.5% | 7,064 |
| JetBlue Airways | 59.5% | 110 min | 1.6% | 1,075 |
| Republic Airways | 73.9% | 198 min | 0.8% | 120 |
What delays out of DFW were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 242,698 flights that departed DFW and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 46.2%
- Airline operations 31.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 14%
- Severe weather 8.3%
- Security 0.1%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through DFW
Of 933,031 scheduled arrivals into DFW, 74.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 209,965 arrivals that ran late, 49.6% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of DFW
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
- LAX 72.8% on time · 20,099 flights
- ORD 73.1% on time · 19,786 flights
- ATL 75.3% on time · 19,751 flights
- LGA 73.5% on time · 19,603 flights
- DEN 70.6% on time · 18,317 flights
- LAS 69% on time · 17,276 flights
- IAH 71.5% on time · 16,451 flights
- PHX 71.1% on time · 15,532 flights
- SEA 71.4% on time · 15,128 flights
- MCO 66% on time · 14,843 flights
DFW in one number
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)
Rank 3 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about DFW
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Dallas Fort Worth?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 88.5% of the time across 12,086 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 63.8%.
- Is the early flight out of DFW really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from DFW left on time 85.8% of the time across 73,565 flights; 6–8pm departures, 63.8% across 125,400. That is a gap of 22 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of DFW?
- June: 62.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 83,729 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 79.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at DFW?
- Envoy Air — 82.9% of its 196,324 departures from DFW left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 59.5% over 1,075 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at DFW?
- 2.3% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.