Route reliability
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Atlanta (ATL): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) to Atlanta, GA (ATL), September 2025 to August 2026.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TXAtlanta, GA
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DFW to ATL
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to Atlanta, GA
- On time
- 73.5%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 2.5%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
- 60+ min late
- 9.3%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 6,672in 12 months6 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Delta Air Lines81.3% on time · 2,785 flights
On time less often than the U.S. average, with more cancellations.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Delta Air Lines Most reliable | 81.3% | 2.6% | 6.5% | 83 min | 0.1% | 2,785 |
| 2. Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle Small sample (under 300 flights) | 79.5% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 42 min | 0.0% | 78 |
| 3. Spirit Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 69.2% | 3.4% | 11.1% | 67 min | 0.0% | 234 |
| 4. American Airlines | 68.6% | 2.6% | 11.6% | 70 min | 0.5% | 2,624 |
| 5. Frontier Airlines | 64.8% | 1.8% | 10.8% | 72 min | 0.3% | 935 |
| PSA Airlines Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 16 | ||||
On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.
What this means
Delta Air Lines has the strongest record on this route.
- Delta Air Lines had the best on-time record from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Atlanta (ATL): 81.3% of its 2,785 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 64.8% for Frontier Airlines.
- PSA Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 2.5% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 40), 0.6 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 9.3% of flights, about 1 in 11, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 74 min.
- Overall, 73.5% of flights on this route arrived on time, 2.1 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (83.1% on time) and July the least reliable (62.7%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 6.7% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 7 am to 8 am were the most punctual (86.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 9 pm to 10 pm were the least (47.2%).
- In the other direction, Atlanta (ATL) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), 71.7% of flights were on time and 2.5% were cancelled. Compare airlines ATL to DFW.
Best and worst months to fly DFW to ATL
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 73.5%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71.5% | 1,567 |
| February | 81.7% | 1,441 |
| March | 71.1% | 1,700 |
| April | 70.2% | 1,632 |
| May | 64.0% | 1,680 |
| June | 65.3% | 1,679 |
| July | 62.7% | 1,752 |
| August | 73.9% | 1,681 |
| September | 82.5% | 1,614 |
| October | 83.1% | 1,693 |
| November | 81.0% | 1,637 |
| December | 76.9% | 1,631 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | October (88.8%) | May (70.0%) |
| Spirit Airlines | October (81.8%) | July (53.5%) |
| American Airlines | September (80.1%) | July (53.0%) |
| Frontier Airlines | September (73.6%) | July (50.0%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 82.6% | 545 |
| Oct 2025 | 79.9% | 576 |
| Nov 2025 | 73.4% | 553 |
| Dec 2025 | 75.4% | 574 |
| Jan 2026 | 71.1% | 558 |
| Feb 2026 | 83.0% | 501 |
| Mar 2026 | 71.1% | 588 |
| Apr 2026 | 74.6% | 562 |
| May 2026 | 69.0% | 561 |
| Jun 2026 | 66.2% | 541 |
| Jul 2026 | 62.1% | 578 |
| Aug 2026 | 74.8% | 535 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 85.0% | 421 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 70.1% | 412 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 86.1% | 605 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 83.7% | 443 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 76.9% | 420 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 82.0% | 512 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 80.3% | 335 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 74.3% | 495 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 70.6% | 425 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 69.9% | 375 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 54.9% | 91 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 63.1% | 656 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 71.8% | 181 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 68.0% | 462 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 63.7% | 399 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 63.0% | 332 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 47.2% | 108 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Nonstop scheduled flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) to Atlanta, GA (ATL), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.