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Rankings / Routes / Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin

2025 flights

Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin

Between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, 1.6 million passengers flew nonstop in 2025, on 14 thousand flights of about 190 miles and 39 minutes in the air. The average passenger accounted for about 51 kg of CO2 from the fuel burned, from 47 kg on American Airlines to 64 kg on Envoy Air.

  • 51 kgCO2 per passenger, average
  • 190 milesabout 39 minutes in the air
  • 1.6 millionpassengers in 2025
  • 75%of seats filled

CO2 per passenger, airline by airline

CO2 per passenger by airline, Dallas-Fort Worth to AustinBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin in 2025.0204060American Airlines47 kgSouthwest Airlines56 kgEnvoy Air64 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, Dallas-Fort Worth to AustinBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin in 2025.0204060American Airlines47 kgSouthwest Airlines56 kgEnvoy Air64 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger, one way, 2025. Fuel burned only. Less is better.
Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin by airline, 2025
AirlineShare of passengersFlights (thousands)Main aircraftSeats per flightSeats filledkg CO2 per passenger
American Airlines63%7.3Boeing 737-800, Airbus A31916782%47
Southwest Airlines28%4.7Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737 MAX 815760%56
Envoy Air7%1.6Embraer 1757691%64

What explains the differences

It's number 100 of the 100 busiest city pairs by passengers, and number 96 for the lowest CO2 per mile flown (0.27 kg per passenger-mile, number 1 being the lowest). A typical route of 190 miles in this set comes out at about 52 kg, so this one is close to that.

The flights use more than one pair of airports: DFW to AUS (73%), DAL to AUS (28%). The figures here cover all of them.

The airlines on this route differ by 38% per passenger. American Airlines burned 658 gallons per flight and 138 passengers on each, and Envoy Air 452 gallons and 69 passengers. The gap comes from how many passengers share each flight, not from fuel burned per flight. American Airlines flew 82% full here against 91% for Envoy Air, flying mostly Boeing 737-800 against Embraer 175.

For comparison, the EPA default factor for a flight of this length (0.207 kg per passenger-mile) would give 39 kg. The EPA figure is a national average for flights of that length. The measured figure for this route is 30% higher.

2019 compared with 2025

In 2019 the route carried 1.8 million passengers on 14 thousand flights. In 2025 it carried 1.6 million, down 12%, on 14 thousand flights, up 0%. The average flight had 159 seats then and 149 now, and 80% of them were filled against 75%.

CO2 per passenger was 46 kg in 2019 and 51 kg in 2025, up 10.2%. Fuel burned per flight was down 3.3% (607 gallons to 587) and passengers per flight were down 12.2% (128 to 112). The distance flown was about the same (190 miles then, 190 now).

American Airlines led in both years, with 61% of passengers in 2019 and 63% in 2025. Southwest Airlines lost the most, 38% to 28%. Envoy Air didn't have 1% of the passengers in 2019 and now carries 7%.

Airline by airline, American Airlines went from 45 kg to 47 kg per passenger (171 seats per flight to 167, main aircraft Boeing 737-800 in both years); Southwest Airlines went from 49 kg to 56 kg per passenger (145 seats per flight to 157, main aircraft Boeing 737-700 in both years).

The airports changed too: DFW to AUS handled 62% of the passengers in 2019 and 73% in 2025.

Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin, 2019 and 2025
Measure20192025
Passengers (thousands)1,8111,594
Flights (thousands)14.214.2
Seats filled80%75%
Gallons of fuel per flight607587
kg CO2 per passenger4651
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth to AustinBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.02040American Airlines 201945 kgAmerican Airlines 202547 kgSouthwest Airlines 201949 kgSouthwest Airlines 202556 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth to AustinBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.02040American Airlines 201945 kgAmerican Airlines 202547 kgSouthwest Airlines 201949 kgSouthwest Airlines 202556 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger on the airlines that flew the route in both years. 2019 figures use that year's filings and estimated aircraft fuel rates, with type-average replacements for missing or outlying filings as described in the methodology. Less is better.

Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin and back: time in the air

The time in the air is almost the same each way: 37 minutes on average from Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin and 42 minutes back. A difference of 5 minutes is within what routing and congestion alone produce.

Time in the air by direction, 2025
DirectionAverage minutes in the airFlights
Austin to Dallas-Fort Worth41.67,231
Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin36.77,010

Fly or drive

Driving is about 222 miles by road, which we estimate as 1.17 times the straight-line distance. An average car emits about 66 kg of CO2 on the trip, at the EPA figure of 0.297 kg per vehicle-mile. Alone, that's 29% more than the 51 kg for a passenger on the flight.

With 2 people in the car, driving comes out lower per person than the flight (33 kg each, and 17 kg each for four). A larger SUV or pickup (0.394 kg per mile) would emit about 88 kg per vehicle.

CO2 per person by way of travel, Dallas-Fort Worth to AustinBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin.0204060Flight, average51 kgCar, driver alone66 kgCar, 2 people33 kgCar, 4 people17 kg
CO2 per person by way of travel, Dallas-Fort Worth to AustinBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin.0204060Flight, average51 kgCar, driver alone66 kgCar, 2 people33 kgCar, 4 people17 kg
CO2 per person, Dallas-Fort Worth to Austin. Driving figures divide one car's emissions between the people in it. See flying vs driving for other trip lengths.

Flights are listed under the airline that operates them, so regional flying appears under the regional. How the CO2 and drive figures are worked out is in the methodology.

Routes with shared cities or nearby CO2 per mile

Los Angeles to Dallas-Fort Worth171 kg CO2 per passenger over 1,222 milesNew York to Dallas-Fort Worth203 kg CO2 per passenger over 1,384 milesDallas-Fort Worth to Washington, DC178 kg CO2 per passenger over 1,193 milesChicago to Dallas-Fort Worth126 kg CO2 per passenger over 800 milesChicago to Minneapolis82 kg CO2 per passenger over 338 milesWashington, DC to Boston100 kg CO2 per passenger over 383 milesDallas-Fort Worth to Houston67 kg CO2 per passenger over 233 milesHonolulu to Kahului39 kg CO2 per passenger over 100 miles

Airports on this route: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field.

Airport and airline references

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), T-100 traffic and Schedule T-2 fuel filings; US EPA transport emission factors. See the methodology.

See all routes, or how the airlines compare overall on the airline pages.