Dallas/Fort Worth to San Diego

What the Data Says About DFW to SAN

The Dallas/Fort Worth to San Diego corridor (DFW → SAN) covers roughly 1,171 miles and is served by 6 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 19,029 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 72.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,962 flights were recorded on this pairing — 167 cancelled (2.4%) and 29 diverted (0.4%). 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 19,029 total flights analyzed, the 72.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.9-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 80% on-time, while Aug 2025 came in at 53% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DFW to SAN route, the combination of a 72.2% on-time rate, 72.9-minute average delay, 2.4% recent cancellation rate, and 6 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.