Route reliability
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Houston (IAH): 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 Houston, TX (IAH), September 2025 to August 2026.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TXHouston, TX
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DFW to IAH
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to Houston, TX
- On time
- 68.9%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 2.4%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
- 60+ min late
- 11.2%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 5,800in 12 months5 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- United Airlines77.6% on time · 2,457 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. United Airlines Most reliable | 77.6% | 1.7% | 7.3% | 81 min | 0.2% | 2,457 |
| 2. Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | 75.9% | 2.4% | 5.9% | 58 min | 0.3% | 710 |
| 3. SkyWest Airlines Operating carrier; sold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska Small sample (under 300 flights) | 74.7% | 4.8% | 10.8% | 90 min | 0.0% | 83 |
| 4. American Airlines | 58.0% | 3.1% | 16.6% | 81 min | 0.1% | 2,513 |
| PSA Airlines Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 37 | ||||
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
United Airlines has the strongest record on this route.
- United Airlines had the best on-time record from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Houston (IAH): 77.6% of its 2,457 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 58.0% for American Airlines.
- PSA Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 2.4% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 42), 0.5 points higher than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 11.2% of flights, about 1 in 9, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 79 min.
- Overall, 68.9% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.7 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (83.3% on time) and June the least reliable (57.3%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 8.0% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (93.5% on time); flights scheduled to depart 9 pm to 10 pm were the least (48.3%).
- In the other direction, Houston (IAH) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), 74.5% of flights were on time and 2.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines IAH to DFW.
Best and worst months to fly DFW to IAH
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 68.9%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70.3% | 1,348 |
| February | 83.3% | 1,232 |
| March | 70.4% | 1,424 |
| April | 69.2% | 1,424 |
| May | 57.7% | 1,481 |
| June | 57.3% | 1,360 |
| July | 61.3% | 1,363 |
| August | 67.9% | 1,378 |
| September | 73.8% | 1,397 |
| October | 73.3% | 1,455 |
| November | 73.6% | 1,314 |
| December | 75.0% | 1,317 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | February (88.7%) | June (66.7%) |
| Envoy Air | February (91.5%) | May (65.6%) |
| American Airlines | February (74.7%) | June (46.9%) |
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 | 69.1% | 498 |
| Oct 2025 | 64.0% | 503 |
| Nov 2025 | 64.1% | 474 |
| Dec 2025 | 71.3% | 502 |
| Jan 2026 | 73.7% | 475 |
| Feb 2026 | 86.0% | 413 |
| Mar 2026 | 68.1% | 489 |
| Apr 2026 | 71.9% | 523 |
| May 2026 | 66.0% | 518 |
| Jun 2026 | 55.8% | 464 |
| Jul 2026 | 63.5% | 482 |
| Aug 2026 | 75.6% | 459 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 93.5% | 355 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | Insufficient sample | 1 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 73.5% | 680 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 71.5% | 270 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 76.5% | 472 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 74.1% | 259 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 68.2% | 170 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 74.6% | 497 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | Insufficient sample | 19 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 75.7% | 552 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 70.1% | 355 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 53.0% | 394 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 58.1% | 499 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 52.5% | 242 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 68.4% | 484 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 61.7% | 60 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 48.3% | 300 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 56.5% | 191 |
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 Houston, TX (IAH), 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.