Route reliability
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Seattle (SEA): 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 Seattle, WA (SEA), September 2025 to August 2026.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TXSeattle, WA
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DFW to SEA
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to Seattle, WA
- On time
- 69.7%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 1.8%vs 1.9% U.S. average About average
- 60+ min late
- 8.0%vs 8.1% U.S. average About average
- Scheduled flights
- 5,227in 12 months4 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Delta Air Lines77.8% on time · 720 flights
On time less often than the U.S. average, with a typical cancellation rate.
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 | 77.8% | 1.7% | 6.5% | 89 min | 0.3% | 720 |
| 2. Alaska Airlines | 76.2% | 1.2% | 4.8% | 53 min | 0.1% | 1,758 |
| 3. American Airlines | 63.5% | 2.2% | 10.5% | 62 min | 0.1% | 2,735 |
| Frontier Airlines | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 14 | ||||
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 Seattle (SEA): 77.8% of its 720 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 63.5% for American Airlines.
- Frontier Airlines also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 1.8% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 56), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 8.0% of flights, about 1 in 13, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 62 min.
- Overall, 69.7% of flights on this route arrived on time, 5.9 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (79.6% on time) and June the least reliable (60.9%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 6.6% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 6 am to 7 am were the most punctual (82.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 10 pm to 11 pm were the least (44.9%).
- In the other direction, Seattle (SEA) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), 75.9% of flights were on time and 1.7% were cancelled. Compare airlines SEA to DFW.
Best and worst months to fly DFW to SEA
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 69.7%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68.5% | 1,124 |
| February | 79.6% | 1,002 |
| March | 72.9% | 1,144 |
| April | 74.0% | 1,147 |
| May | 61.7% | 1,355 |
| June | 60.9% | 1,437 |
| July | 64.5% | 1,528 |
| August | 68.1% | 1,476 |
| September | 73.8% | 1,300 |
| October | 77.0% | 1,349 |
| November | 77.5% | 1,197 |
| December | 71.8% | 1,232 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | September (86.6%) | January (71.2%) |
| Alaska Airlines | February (83.5%) | June (61.1%) |
| American Airlines | November (78.4%) | June (57.3%) |
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 | 73.7% | 429 |
| Oct 2025 | 68.1% | 442 |
| Nov 2025 | 72.3% | 412 |
| Dec 2025 | 60.3% | 453 |
| Jan 2026 | 65.5% | 400 |
| Feb 2026 | 77.5% | 342 |
| Mar 2026 | 71.8% | 387 |
| Apr 2026 | 76.5% | 413 |
| May 2026 | 67.7% | 483 |
| Jun 2026 | 61.4% | 490 |
| Jul 2026 | 73.3% | 502 |
| Aug 2026 | 71.7% | 474 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 82.1% | 476 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 80.0% | 429 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 71.6% | 497 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 80.0% | 280 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 75.4% | 395 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | Insufficient sample | 22 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 72.5% | 218 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 74.8% | 286 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 58.6% | 232 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 74.3% | 280 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 68.0% | 619 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 65.7% | 204 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 66.1% | 330 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 60.7% | 239 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 57.5% | 424 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 46.8% | 109 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 44.9% | 187 |
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 Seattle, WA (SEA), 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.