Route reliability
Detroit (DTW) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Detroit, MI (DTW) to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW), September 2025 to August 2026.
Detroit, MIDallas/Fort Worth, TX
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DTW to DFW
Detroit, MI to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
- On time
- 73.6%vs 75.6% U.S. average Worse than average
- Cancelled
- 2.2%vs 1.9% U.S. average About average
- 60+ min late
- 9.2%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 3,482in 12 months5 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Delta Air Lines75.5% on time · 1,406 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 | 75.5% | 1.7% | 7.8% | 57 min | 0.7% | 1,406 |
| 2. American Airlines | 74.2% | 2.6% | 9.4% | 85 min | 0.7% | 1,622 |
| 3. Spirit Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 72.5% | 2.0% | 8.5% | 58 min | 0.7% | 153 |
| 4. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 60.3% | 3.1% | 15.0% | 82 min | 0.0% | 287 |
| Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | 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 Detroit (DTW) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): 75.5% of its 1,406 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 74.2% for American Airlines. The gap is small, so treat the airlines as roughly equal on punctuality.
- Envoy Air also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 2.2% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 45), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 9.2% of flights, about 1 in 11, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 73 min.
- Overall, 73.6% of flights on this route arrived on time, 2.0 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (83.0% on time) and January the least reliable (63.7%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 5.9% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (87.2% on time); flights scheduled to depart 8 pm to 9 pm were the least (61.7%).
- In the other direction, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Detroit (DTW), 74.8% of flights were on time and 1.9% were cancelled. Compare airlines DFW to DTW.
Best and worst months to fly DTW to DFW
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 73.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 63.7% | 845 |
| February | 79.9% | 776 |
| March | 78.2% | 925 |
| April | 71.8% | 929 |
| May | 65.1% | 965 |
| June | 69.5% | 930 |
| July | 67.6% | 970 |
| August | 78.7% | 941 |
| September | 81.7% | 858 |
| October | 83.0% | 987 |
| November | 77.2% | 928 |
| December | 75.5% | 889 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | October (86.5%) | July (62.4%) |
| American Airlines | September (86.2%) | January (63.4%) |
| Spirit Airlines | March (83.2%) | May (53.0%) |
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 | 81.3% | 289 |
| Oct 2025 | 81.0% | 310 |
| Nov 2025 | 71.8% | 301 |
| Dec 2025 | 64.9% | 302 |
| Jan 2026 | 57.6% | 262 |
| Feb 2026 | 79.6% | 225 |
| Mar 2026 | 74.7% | 281 |
| Apr 2026 | 78.0% | 300 |
| May 2026 | 73.3% | 300 |
| Jun 2026 | 65.3% | 288 |
| Jul 2026 | 71.1% | 318 |
| Aug 2026 | 84.0% | 306 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 87.2% | 148 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 84.2% | 152 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 80.7% | 336 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 77.5% | 374 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | Insufficient sample | 25 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | Insufficient sample | 20 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 78.2% | 354 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 79.0% | 410 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 67.9% | 53 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | Insufficient sample | 27 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 68.4% | 418 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 73.7% | 205 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 69.3% | 153 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 64.8% | 54 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 62.7% | 408 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 61.7% | 183 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 70.7% | 147 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | Insufficient sample | 15 |
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 Detroit, MI (DTW) to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW), 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.