Route reliability
San Diego (SAN) 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 San Diego, CA (SAN) to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW), September 2025 to August 2026.
San Diego, CADallas/Fort Worth, TX
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
SAN to DFW
San Diego, CA to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
- On time
- 75.2%vs 75.6% U.S. average About average
- Cancelled
- 2.3%vs 1.9% U.S. average Worse than average
- 60+ min late
- 8.2%vs 8.1% U.S. average About average
- Scheduled flights
- 3,737in 12 months3 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Frontier Airlines77.5% on time · 262 flights
On time about as often as 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. Frontier Airlines Most reliable | 77.5% | 1.9% | 5.3% | 73 min | 0.8% | 262 |
| 2. Alaska Airlines | 75.8% | 0.8% | 4.9% | 43 min | 1.5% | 264 |
| 3. American Airlines | 75.0% | 2.5% | 8.7% | 84 min | 0.6% | 3,211 |
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 San Diego (SAN) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): 77.5% of its 262 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 75.0% for American 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%.
- 8.2% of flights, about 1 in 12, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 80 min.
- Overall, 75.2% of flights on this route arrived on time, about the same as 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 (65.7%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 5.6% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 7 am to 8 am were the most punctual (87.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 4 pm to 5 pm were the least (59.3%).
- In the other direction, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to San Diego (SAN), 61.5% of flights were on time and 2.3% were cancelled. Compare airlines DFW to SAN.
Best and worst months to fly SAN to DFW
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 75.2%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72.8% | 805 |
| February | 83.3% | 767 |
| March | 77.9% | 933 |
| April | 79.9% | 916 |
| May | 68.1% | 993 |
| June | 65.7% | 1,013 |
| July | 67.4% | 1,033 |
| August | 72.3% | 950 |
| September | 78.6% | 796 |
| October | 78.4% | 888 |
| November | 77.6% | 823 |
| December | 76.5% | 844 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | February (91.2%) | September (54.2%) |
| American Airlines | February (82.5%) | June (65.2%) |
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 | 77.0% | 265 |
| Oct 2025 | 76.7% | 296 |
| Nov 2025 | 69.7% | 261 |
| Dec 2025 | 79.4% | 281 |
| Jan 2026 | 69.7% | 274 |
| Feb 2026 | 80.6% | 248 |
| Mar 2026 | 76.7% | 292 |
| Apr 2026 | 86.1% | 303 |
| May 2026 | 75.4% | 374 |
| Jun 2026 | 67.7% | 381 |
| Jul 2026 | 69.0% | 397 |
| Aug 2026 | 78.4% | 365 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 83.3% | 544 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 87.1% | 418 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 84.0% | 363 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 79.9% | 398 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 72.7% | 271 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 74.1% | 143 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 77.4% | 359 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 67.7% | 201 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 67.8% | 286 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 62.8% | 317 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 59.3% | 275 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 78.0% | 50 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 51.6% | 91 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | Insufficient sample | 21 |
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 San Diego, CA (SAN) 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.