Best time to fly out of Des Moines (DSM)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Des Moines: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 89.7% of the time, against 72.6% 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 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 87 | 86 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 89 | 88 | 91 | 87 | 89 | 88 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 83 | 83 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 84 | 85 | 84 | 80 | 83 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 80 | 83 | 83 | 80 | 79 | 82 | 82 |
| 2–4pm | 74 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 75 | 76 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 74 | 76 | 69 |
| 6–8pm | 72 | 76 | 80 | 68 | 73 | 76 | 68 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at DSM was Before 6am — 89.7% of departures left on time across 4,725 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 72.6%. 6–8am departures from DSM left on time 88.6% of the time across 9,622 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.6% across 4,239. That is a gap of 16 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at DSM
July was the hard month at DSM: 76.2% of departures left on time, across 4,008 flights. September was the easy one at 86.7%. 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 | 76.9% | 3,425 |
| February | 83.2% | 3,243 |
| March | 82.4% | 3,913 |
| April | 86.3% | 3,658 |
| May | 80.6% | 3,854 |
| June | 77.2% | 3,968 |
| July | 76.2% | 4,008 |
| August | 80.5% | 3,965 |
| September | 86.7% | 3,705 |
| October | 86.6% | 4,010 |
| November | 86.7% | 3,741 |
| December | 78.6% | 3,784 |
Airlines at DSM
Every airline with at least 100 departures from DSM, 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 | 76.9% | 126 min | 2.3% | 7,126 |
| United Airlines | 86.1% | 92 min | 1.4% | 6,053 |
| Allegiant Air | 75.4% | 85 min | 1.4% | 5,627 |
| Southwest Airlines | 80.6% | 55 min | 0.8% | 5,376 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 82.9% | 122 min | 2.3% | 4,952 |
| Endeavor Air | 86.3% | 85 min | 1.5% | 3,854 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.6% | 106 min | 1.4% | 3,555 |
| Envoy Air | 83% | 69 min | 1.9% | 2,962 |
| Republic Airways | 85.4% | 76 min | 2.9% | 2,928 |
| PSA Airlines | 82.8% | 117 min | 4.4% | 2,198 |
| Frontier Airlines | 76.1% | 87 min | 1.2% | 643 |
What delays out of DSM were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 8,575 flights that departed DSM and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.2% put down to airline operations and 32.7% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32.7%
- Airline operations 39.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.2%
- Severe weather 9.6%
- Security 0.3%
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 DSM
Of 45,280 scheduled arrivals into DSM, 74.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 10,424 arrivals that ran late, 52.9% 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 DSM
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.
- ORD 77.6% on time · 7,505 flights
- DEN 81.6% on time · 6,950 flights
- DFW 73.1% on time · 3,899 flights
- ATL 88.3% on time · 3,558 flights
- PHX 83.6% on time · 2,944 flights
- CLT 79.9% on time · 2,272 flights
- DCA 79.4% on time · 2,125 flights
- LGA 84.2% on time · 1,833 flights
- STL 86.4% on time · 1,821 flights
- LAS 80.3% on time · 1,712 flights
DSM in one number
Des Moines (DSM)
Rank 81 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about DSM
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Des Moines?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 89.7% of the time across 4,725 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 72.6%.
- Is the early flight out of DSM really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from DSM left on time 88.6% of the time across 9,622 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.6% across 4,239. That is a gap of 16 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of DSM?
- July: 76.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,008 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 86.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at DSM?
- Delta Air Lines — 86.6% of its 3,555 departures from DSM left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 75.4% over 5,627 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at DSM?
- 1.8% 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.