Dallas/Fort Worth to Fort Smith

What the Data Says About DFW to FSM

The Dallas/Fort Worth to Fort Smith corridor (DFW → FSM) covers roughly 227 miles and is served by 6 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 7,208 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 73.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,353 flights were recorded on this pairing — 72 cancelled (3.1%) and 11 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 6 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 7,208 total flights analyzed, the 85.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 73.3-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 55% on-time — a 39-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DFW to FSM route, the combination of a 85.5% on-time rate, 73.3-minute average delay, 3.1% recent cancellation rate, and 6 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.