ON TIMEBOARD

DAL → SNA on time

Dallas Love Field (Dallas, TX) to Orange County John Wayne (Santa Ana, CA). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
70%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.8%
368 flights
Typical arrival
+2 min
median vs schedule
When late
+48 min
average delay
Flights / day
1
1 airline

70% of flights from Dallas to Santa Ana arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is worse than the typical U.S. route. 8% of flights arrived more than an hour late or not at all.

How late?

The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for DAL → SNA: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 62% of the time. About 1 in 14 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 368 three hours or more; 0.8% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 368 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Southwest Airlines36870%0.8%+2 min7.3%+48 minSouthwest Airlines

Airline = the name on the ticket. Regional flights (e.g. "Delta Connection") count under the ticketing airline, and the operator is listed.

Best time of day to fly

On-time rate by scheduled departure hour (local time at DAL). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

40%70%100%10 a.m. departures: too few flights (49 flights)10a11 a.m. departures: too few flights (25 flights)11anoon departures: too few flights (62 flights)12p1 p.m. departures: too few flights (41 flights)1p2 p.m. departures: too few flights2p3 p.m. departures: too few flights (5 flights)3p4 p.m. departures: too few flights (48 flights)4p5 p.m. departures: too few flights (12 flights)5p6 p.m. departures: too few flights (53 flights)6p7 p.m. departures: too few flights (45 flights)7p8 p.m. departures: too few flights (20 flights)8p
DAL → SNA, share of flights arriving on time, by departure hour. Hours with under 100 flights are greyed out.
82%+ on time76–82%68–76%under 68%too few flights

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026.

40%70%100%Jan: too few flights (93 flights)JanFeb: too few flights (85 flights)FebMar: too few flights (97 flights)MarApr: too few flights (91 flights)AprMay: too few flights (93 flights)MayJun: too few flights (90 flights)JunJul: too few flights (93 flights)JulAug: too few flights (97 flights)AugSep: too few flights (90 flights)SepOct: too few flights (93 flights)OctNov: too few flights (89 flights)NovDec: too few flights (95 flights)Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday53——
Tuesday52——
Wednesday52——
Thursday51——
Friday52——
Saturday52——
Sunday56——

Why flights were late

Share of delay minutes on flights 15+ minutes late, as reported to BTS by the airlines.

Late inbound plane 48%Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 39%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 12%Severe weather 1%

Cancellations: weather 3

Month by month

Not enough months with data to draw a trend.

Nearby airport alternatives

Other ways to make the same trip, using airports within 60 miles of Dallas or Santa Ana. DFW → SNA has been 7 points more reliable.

RouteFlightsOn timeCancelled
DAL → SNA (this route)36870%0.8%
DFW → SNA Dallas/Fort Worth to Orange County John Wayne2,95677%2.4%
DFW → LAX Dallas/Fort Worth to Los Angeles LAX6,18472%2.1%
DAL → BUR Dallas Love Field to Hollywood Burbank39470%1.5%
DAL → LGB Dallas Love Field to Long Beach48470%1.2%
DFW → ONT Dallas/Fort Worth to Ontario2,27470%2.2%
DAL → LAX Dallas Love Field to Los Angeles LAX1,48568%1.0%

Questions

How often are flights from DAL to SNA on time?

70% of 368 scheduled flights from Dallas, TX to Santa Ana, CA arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 0.8% were cancelled.

Related

Domestic flights by the airlines that report to the U.S. DOT, plus their regional partners. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes after schedule; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Past performance is a guide, not a forecast. Method.