DSM to PHX flight delays
Des Moines, IA (DSM) Phoenix, AZ (PHX) · 1,149 miles
1,064 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
80.59%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.5%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
119 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
24 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. SkyWest Airlines arrived on time 9.1 points more often than Southwest Airlines over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The shape of the lateness matters here. Flights on this route are not late often, but when they are late they are late by about 119 minutes — long enough to lose a connection or an evening. The on-time percentage looks reassuring and understates the consequence of being on the wrong flight.
The Des Moines to Phoenix route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, SkyWest Airlines arrived on time most often on DSM to PHX. Southwest Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in April and worst in November.
Every airline on DSM to PHX
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 494 | 79.96% | 1.82% | 180 min | C |
| SkyWest Airlines | 350 | 82.85% | 1.43% | 66 min | B |
| Southwest Airlines | 166 | 73.78% | 1.2% | 59 min | D |
| Envoy Air | 47 | 93.62% | 0% | 36 min | — |
| Frontier Airlines | 7 | 85.71% | 0% | 142 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
PHX to DSM Phoenix back to Des Moines 77.5% on time COther routes from Des Moines
Common questions
Are flights from Des Moines to Phoenix usually delayed?
80.59% of flights on the DSM to PHX route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Des Moines to Phoenix?
SkyWest Airlines, at 82.85% on time across 350 flights. The least punctual on the route was Southwest Airlines at 73.78%.
How often are DSM to PHX flights cancelled?
1.5% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 15 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Des Moines to Phoenix?
April, when 89.5% of flights arrived on time. The worst was November at 73%.
When DSM to PHX flights are late, how late are they?
About 119 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on DSM to PHX during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →