Flights Dallas-Fort Worth → San Francisco
DFW → SFO
How long is the flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to San Francisco?
The flight from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 3h 16m on average. That is the median time recorded across 5 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Dallas-Fort Worth to San Francisco operates with a mix of aircraft including Boeing 737 and Airbus models, serving one of the busiest airports in terms of annual passengers. With 67% on-time performance, this route experiences an average delay of 21.2 minutes per flight out of the total 965 flights recorded.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines. Across 2638 flights monitored in recent months, 57% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 29 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.74%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 29.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Dallas-Fort Worth the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 2,352 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 16m.
Departures from Dallas-Fort Worth on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 42% of DFW-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Dallas-Fort Worth the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 2,638 tracked DFW-SFO flights, 57% left on time with an average delay of 29 min and a 1.7% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 85% | -1 min | 0.5% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating DFW-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DFW-SFO
The flight from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to San Francisco (SFO) takes 3h 16m on average. That is the median time recorded across 5 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 57% with an average delay of 29 minutes, based on 2638 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Dallas-Fort Worth-San Francisco is 1.74% across 2638 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at San Francisco, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
