Southwest Airlines: On-Time Performance & Delay Statistics
Data through May 2026
Southwest Airlines performs about in line with the industry: 79% of flights on time against a national 78%, 0.8% cancelled, and an average delay of 13 minutes when late. That puts it mid-pack — #8 of 15 US reporting carriers.
- On-time
- 79%
- arrived <15 min late
- Avg delay
- 13 min
- Cancelled
- 0.8%
- Flights/12mo
- 1,392,049
- Routes
- 2,100
- Airports
- 111
Monthly on-time trend
Southwest Airlines’s most reliable routes
Where Southwest Airlines flies most
| Route | Flights | On-time | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU → DAL | 8,219 | 81% | 12 min |
| DAL → HOU | 8,218 | 76% | 15 min |
| PHX → DEN | 8,133 | 76% | 15 min |
| DEN → PHX | 8,052 | 74% | 15 min |
| SMF → SAN | 7,652 | 74% | 15 min |
| SAN → SMF | 7,651 | 77% | 13 min |
| SJC → SAN | 7,562 | 75% | 13 min |
| SAN → SJC | 7,554 | 77% | 13 min |
Airport hubs where this airline operates
Based on 2,787,904 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.