Southwest Airlines has an overall on-time arrival rate of 80%. The most common passenger complaint is baggage. Southwest Airlines ranks #7 out of 14 U.S. airlines for reliability.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated April 2026.WN
Southwest Airlines
Lands on time
80%
When late
~55 min
Cancelled
0.7%
Flights tracked
2,651,841
Southwest Airlines is pretty reliable as airlines go. About 80% of their flights land on time. When they don't, you're usually waiting around 55 minutes. The biggest reason? late_aircraft.
About 1.5 out of every 100k passengers file a formal complaint. The thing people complain about most: baggage.
Busiest Southwest Airlines routes
PHX → DENPhoenix – Denver
78%on time
DEN → PHXDenver – Phoenix
75%on time
HOU → DALHouston – Dallas
81%on time
DAL → HOUDallas – Houston
77%on time
SAN → SMFSan Diego – Sacramento
79%on time
SMF → SANSacramento – San Diego
77%on time
SJC → SANSan Jose – San Diego
78%on time
SAN → SJCSan Diego – San Jose
79%on time
LAS → SANLas Vegas – San Diego
70%on time
SAN → LASSan Diego – Las Vegas
77%on time
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Data last updated April 2026. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics.