Route Reliability

Route reliability

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to San Diego (SAN): 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 San Diego, CA (SAN), September 2025 to August 2026.

Historical performance Official DOT data through August 2026 · Not live flight status

Dallas/Fort Worth, TXSan Diego, CA

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Three-letter airport codes, nonstop U.S. domestic flights. One direction at a time.

Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026

DFW to SAN

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to San Diego, CA

On time
61.5%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
Cancelled
2.3%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
60+ min late
12.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
Scheduled flights
3,738in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
Frontier Airlines66.4% on time · 262 flights

On time less often than the U.S. average, with more cancellations.

Compared with all U.S. flights, September 2025 to August 2026. “About average” means within 1.5 points for on time, 0.3 for cancelled and 1 for 60+ minutes late.

Airlines on this route

Ranked by on-time arrival

Airlines from DFW to SAN, September 2025 to August 2026. Rates are shares of all scheduled flights.
Airline On time Cancelled 60+ min late Avg delay when late Diverted Flights
1. Frontier Airlines Most reliable 66.4% 1.9% 12.2% 79 min 0.8% 262
2. American Airlines 61.5% 2.4% 12.3% 66 min 0.6% 3,212
3. Alaska Airlines 56.4% 0.8% 13.6% 68 min 0.0% 264

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

Frontier Airlines has the strongest record on this route.

  • Frontier Airlines had the best on-time record from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to San Diego (SAN): 66.4% of its 262 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 56.4% for Alaska Airlines.
  • 2.3% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 43), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 12.4% of flights, about 1 in 8, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 67 min.
  • Overall, 61.5% of flights on this route arrived on time, 14.1 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (75.7% on time) and August the least reliable (52.9%).
  • Cancellations peaked in January, when 5.7% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 7 am to 8 am were the most punctual (82.8% on time); flights scheduled to depart 8 pm to 9 pm were the least (37.7%).
  • In the other direction, San Diego (SAN) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), 75.2% of flights were on time and 2.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines SAN to DFW.

Best and worst months to fly DFW to SAN

Jan 63.7%
Feb 75.7%
Mar 71.2%
Apr 66.8%
May 57.1%
Jun 53.3%
Jul 53.1%
Aug 52.9%
Sep 67.7%
Oct 71.4%
Nov 72.7%
Dec 71.7%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 61.5%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 63.7% 804
February 75.7% 767
March 71.2% 933
April 66.8% 916
May 57.1% 994
June 53.3% 1,014
July 53.1% 1,034
August 52.9% 950
September 67.7% 798
October 71.4% 889
November 72.7% 824
December 71.7% 844
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
Frontier Airlines February (91.2%) June (55.7%)
American Airlines February (74.2%) August (51.5%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 63.4%
Oct 63.3%
Nov 62.8%
Dec 70.8%
Jan 60.9%
Feb 73.4%
Mar 76.4%
Apr 66.7%
May 61.0%
Jun 46.2%
Jul 56.2%
Aug 49.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
All airlines combined, September 2025 to August 2026. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Sep 2025 63.4% 265
Oct 2025 63.3% 297
Nov 2025 62.8% 261
Dec 2025 70.8% 281
Jan 2026 60.9% 274
Feb 2026 73.4% 248
Mar 2026 76.4% 292
Apr 2026 66.7% 303
May 2026 61.0% 374
Jun 2026 46.2% 381
Jul 2026 56.2% 397
Aug 2026 49.0% 365

Best and worst departure times

7a 82.8%
8a 81.9%
9a 70.4%
10a Insufficient sample
11a 64.5%
12p 57.4%
1p 60.6%
2p 61.8%
3p 60.0%
4p 56.7%
5p 67.3%
6p 44.2%
7p 53.6%
8p 37.7%
9p 46.4%
10p 55.3%
11p Insufficient sample
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at DFW, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing 7 am to 8 am 82.8% 360
Departing 8 am to 9 am 81.9% 260
Departing 9 am to 10 am 70.4% 108
Departing 10 am to 11 am Insufficient sample 6
Departing 11 am to noon 64.5% 358
Departing noon to 1 pm 57.4% 108
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 60.6% 315
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 61.8% 424
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm 60.0% 50
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 56.7% 224
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 67.3% 272
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 44.2% 120
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 53.6% 446
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 37.7% 146
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 46.4% 278
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm 55.3% 262
Departing 11 pm to midnight Insufficient sample 1
Woman at an airport window watching a plane take off
Photo: Depositphotos (licensed stock, illustrative only). Credits

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 San Diego, CA (SAN), 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.

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