Numbers from Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 flight records · generated 1 October 2026
GateCast grades your connection from A to F on how likely you are to make it, using a year of real flight records. At Dallas Fort Worth, pairs of American flights scheduled 45–59 minutes apart were missed on 16% of the days they ran, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026; pairs 90–120 minutes apart, on 8%.
How often American connections here were missed
Every pair of American flights at Dallas Fort Worth (regional flights sold as American included), grouped by the scheduled time between them, and checked against what actually happened on each day both flights ran, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026.
"Missed" means the first flight was cancelled, or arrived too late to leave about 31 minutes to get off, reach the next gate and board before the doors close. That time is our estimate for American connections here: flight records don't say which passengers made their connection. Days when the second flight was cancelled aren't counted. Pairs scheduled less than 35 minutes apart are left out, because we can't tell which of those the airline would sell as a connection.
When American connections at Dallas Fort Worth go wrong
From the same flight records as the chart above, and with the same meaning of "missed".
How long a connection to look for
American connections of 90–120 minutes here were missed on 8% of days. No shorter connection time in the chart above was missed on fewer than 1 day in 10.
Time of day
American connections of 45–59 minutes at Dallas Fort Worth were missed on 12% of days when the first flight was due in before 10:00, and on 22% when it was due in at 18:00 or later.
| First flight due in | 35–44 min | 45–59 min | 60–89 min | 90–120 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| before 10:00 | 17% | 12% | 8% | 7% |
| 10:00–13:59 | 17% | 12% | 9% | 6% |
| 14:00–17:59 | 24% | 18% | 12% | 8% |
| 18:00 or later | 28% | 22% | 15% | 11% |
Share of days missed, by scheduled arrival time (Dallas Fort Worth local time) and scheduled time between the flights. "—": fewer than 500 days to go on.
Time of year
The month with the most missed American connections at Dallas Fort Worth was June 2026: 16% of days. The fewest was February 2026: 8%. The first flight was cancelled or diverted most often in June 2026, on 4.7% of days, against 0.5% in December 2025.
| Month | Days missed | First flight cancelled |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 15% | 3.4% |
| Sep 2025 | 11% | 1.9% |
| Oct 2025 | 10% | 1.3% |
| Nov 2025 | 11% | 2.4% |
| Dec 2025 | 10% | 0.5% |
| Jan 2026 | 11% | 3.2% |
| Feb 2026 | 8% | 1.2% |
| Mar 2026 | 11% | 2.2% |
| Apr 2026 | 9% | 1.3% |
| May 2026 | 13% | 3.1% |
| Jun 2026 | 16% | 4.7% |
| Jul 2026 | 12% | 1.6% |
"First flight cancelled" includes flights diverted to another airport. "—": fewer than 500 days to go on.
The last flight of the day
Of American's scheduled flights leaving Dallas Fort Worth at 18:00 or later, 91 of 342 are its last flight of the day to that city: miss the connection and the next American flight there leaves the next day. Before 10:00 it is 0 of 354. Connections onto a last flight of the day were missed on 16% of days; connections with a later American flight to the same city, on 11%.
How late American flights into Dallas Fort Worth ran
Over 144,182 scheduled American flights into Dallas Fort Worth, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, 23% arrived 15 or more minutes late and 10% an hour or more late. The typical flight arrived at the gate 7 minutes early. 3.6% were cancelled or diverted.
What decides a connection at Dallas Fort Worth
- Skylink, the train between DFW's terminals behind security, takes 5 minutes on average and up to 9 minutes between the farthest terminals.DFW Airport, Connect/Transfer at DFW (dfwairport.com/explore/plan/connect), checked 23 September 2026
- At Dallas Fort Worth, half of travellers arriving from abroad without Global Entry waited 14 minutes or less at passport control, and 1 in 10 waited more than 38 minutes (24 September 2025 – 23 September 2026).US Customs and Border Protection, Airport Wait Times (awt.cbp.gov), 24 September 2025 – 23 September 2026, checked 25 September 2026
- Almost all international arrivals at Dallas Fort Worth collect their checked bags, clear US customs, check them in again and go back through security before the next flight, except passengers connecting from American's London Heathrow service, which is part of a TSA trial. They clear customs at the arrival gate and skip the bag recheck and the second security check. American's page doesn't say which flights or passengers qualify; check with American. Flights that clear US preclearance before they leave are also an exception. It runs at 16 airports (ten in Canada, including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, plus Dublin, Shannon, Nassau, Bermuda, Aruba and Abu Dhabi), though not on every flight from them; a flight that clears it arrives at Dallas Fort Worth as a domestic flight. Your airline can tell you whether yours does.American Airlines newsroom, 22 July 2025 (news.aa.com); TSA, "One Stop Security" pilot release, 27 August 2025 (tsa.gov); US Customs and Border Protection, help.cbp.gov article 1244; US Customs and Border Protection, Preclearance locations and hours (cbp.gov/travel/preclearance, last modified 24 June 2026); Aer Lingus, "US immigration and pre-clearance" (mediacentre.aerlingus.com: no preclearance on its late Dublin departures to New York and Boston), checked 1 October 2026
What real connections here look like
Real American connections at Dallas Fort Worth from last year's flights. Each is the typical case of its kind, not the worst we found. Schedules change, so these exact flights may not run on your date.
43 minutes between flights looks tight — but on 84% of the 140 days both flights ran, the first one got in with enough time for a typical connection here. Graded B.
Graded over the 140 days both flights ran, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · generated 1 October 2026 · local times
1h 36m looks like plenty of time. But the first flight arrived more than an hour late on 21% of the 65 days both flights ran, and the connection was missed on 18% of them. Graded C.
Graded over the 65 days both flights ran, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · generated 1 October 2026 · local times
4h 10m between flights looks like plenty of room. But this is the last American flight of the day from DFW to BUR: miss it, and there's no later one that day, however long the wait was. The first flight got in too late on 4 of the 117 days both flights ran. Graded D; with another American flight an hour later it would be B.
Graded over the 117 days both flights ran, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · generated 1 October 2026 · local times
These are two separate tickets, not one booking. If the first flight runs late and you miss the second, you're not owed a seat on it. Passengers typically paid $233* one way from DFW to AUS. Graded A.
Graded over the 84 days both flights ran, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · generated 1 October 2026 · local times
Typical fare passengers paid, one way, per ticket, from the US DOT fare survey (Jul 2024–Jun 2025). Fare only; bags and seats extra. Today's price may be different.
Check your own flights
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Questions
Is 45 minutes enough for American at Dallas Fort Worth?
Over Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, pairs of American flights at Dallas Fort Worth scheduled 45–59 minutes apart were missed on 16% of the days they ran (13,668 flight pairs). Your own two flights can be much better or worse than that, so check them rather than going on the minutes alone.
Is an hour enough for American at Dallas Fort Worth?
Over Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, pairs of American flights at Dallas Fort Worth scheduled 60–89 minutes apart were missed on 11% of the days they ran (28,538 flight pairs). Your own two flights can be much better or worse than that, so check them rather than going on the minutes alone.
Read the full Dallas Fort Worth connection guide →
- DFW Airport, Connect/Transfer at DFW (dfwairport.com/explore/plan/connect), checked 23 September 2026
- US Customs and Border Protection, Airport Wait Times (awt.cbp.gov), 24 September 2025 – 23 September 2026, checked 25 September 2026
- American Airlines newsroom, 22 July 2025 (news.aa.com); TSA, "One Stop Security" pilot release, 27 August 2025 (tsa.gov); US Customs and Border Protection, help.cbp.gov article 1244; US Customs and Border Protection, Preclearance locations and hours (cbp.gov/travel/preclearance, last modified 24 June 2026); Aer Lingus, "US immigration and pre-clearance" (mediacentre.aerlingus.com: no preclearance on its late Dublin departures to New York and Boston), checked 1 October 2026
- Flight times, delays and cancellations: US Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- Fares: US DOT fare survey (DB1B), Jul 2024-Jun 2025
Grades are estimates, not guarantees. Always check your airline's minimum connection time.
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