FlightRecord

Houston (IAH) to Des Moines (DSM): On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Houston (IAH) to Des Moines (DSM) is a thinner route than most in this dataset — 347 departures over the past year, roughly 7 a week — so treat these numbers as indicative rather than definitive. Of the flights that did operate, 71% arrived on time, noticeably below the national average of 78%.

On-time
71%
arrived <15 min late
Avg delay
18 min
completed flights
Cancelled
1.6%
Flights/day
0.95
last 12 months
Duration
2h 23m
scheduled
Distance
802 mi

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly on-time percentage for IAH to DSM flights50%75%100%June 2024: 45% on-time (32 flights)45Jun 2024July 2024: 43% on-time (33 flights)43August 2024: 52% on-time (21 flights)52September 2024: 100% on-time (7 flights)100Sep 2024October 2024: 90% on-time (38 flights)90November 2024: 91% on-time (22 flights)91December 2024: 72% on-time (18 flights)72Dec 2024January 2025: 80% on-time (26 flights)80February 2025: 86% on-time (28 flights)86March 2025: 60% on-time (11 flights)60Mar 2025April 2025: 60% on-time (25 flights)60May 2025: 65% on-time (31 flights)65June 2025: 53% on-time (30 flights)53Jun 2025July 2025: 67% on-time (31 flights)67August 2025: 53% on-time (31 flights)53September 2025: 77% on-time (30 flights)77Sep 2025October 2025: 84% on-time (31 flights)84November 2025: 57% on-time (30 flights)57December 2025: 72% on-time (18 flights)72Dec 2025January 2026: 92% on-time (26 flights)92February 2026: 100% on-time (28 flights)100March 2026: 83% on-time (31 flights)83Mar 2026April 2026: 77% on-time (30 flights)77May 2026: 71% on-time (31 flights)71

Best time to fly from IAH to DSM

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday72%25 min
Tuesdaybest75%16 min
Wednesday74%17 min
Thursday72%17 min
Friday71%18 min
Saturday70%16 min
Sunday66%20 min

What causes delays on this route

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT.

  • Late-arriving aircraft50%
  • Airline operations39%
  • National airspace system7%
  • Weather5%

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights from IAH to DSM delayed?
29% of IAH–DSM flights arrived 15 or more minutes late (the US DOT definition of a delay) between 2024-06 and 2026-05. The average arrival delay across completed flights was 18 minutes.
How long is the flight from IAH to DSM?
The scheduled IAH–DSM flight time averages 2h 23m over 802 miles. Actual arrival times vary — flights on this route land 15+ minutes late 29% of the time.
How often are IAH to DSM flights cancelled?
1.6% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled between 2024-06 and 2026-05, at or below the national rate of 1.6%.
What is the worst month to fly from IAH to DSM?
July 2024 was the roughest month in this dataset, with only 43% of arrivals on time. The best was February 2026 at 100%. If your dates are flexible, that 57-point gap is worth planning around.

Based on 639 flights, 2024-062026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.