Washington to Dallas/Fort Worth

What the Data Says About IAD to DFW

The Washington to Dallas/Fort Worth corridor (IAD → DFW) covers roughly 1,172 miles and is served by 24 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,421 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 89.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,596 flights were recorded on this pairing — 52 cancelled (1.4%) and 25 diverted (0.7%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 24 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,421 total flights analyzed, the 79.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 89.1-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 May 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAD to DFW route, the combination of a 79.8% on-time rate, 89.1-minute average delay, 1.4% recent cancellation rate, and 24 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.