How Often Is My Flight Late? — On-Time Record by Route and Airline
Your route → how often it ran late or was cancelled, airline by airline (US DOT, twelve months).
75% of flights on timeNew York → Los Angeles, August 2025 – July 2026: 10,281 flights — 75% on time, 22% late (77 min late on average), 2.4% cancelled, 0.1% diverted. In July 2026: 65% of 919 on time.
- By airline on this route:
- JetBlue73%3,478 flights · 2.6% cancelled · late ones 71 min on average
- Delta76%3,364 flights · 2.2% cancelled · late ones 68 min on average
- American78%3,267 flights · 2.4% cancelled · late ones 97 min on average
- Frontier69%172 flights · 1.7% cancelled · late ones 69 min on average
- on time
- 15+ min late
- cancelled or diverted
When to fly New York → Los Angeles
By departure time: the 6–9 am flights were on time 81% of the time, the 6–9 pm ones 67%.
- Leaving 6–9 am81%2,419 flights
- Leaving 9 am–noon79%2,090 flights
- Leaving noon–3 pm77%915 flights
- Leaving 3–6 pm74%2,405 flights
- Leaving 6–9 pm67%1,654 flights
- Leaving 9 pm–6 am67%798 flights
Flights leaving New York (JFK): July 2026 (59% on time) and December 2025 (62%) were the worst months, September 2025 (82%) the best.
- New York (JFK) departures (left on time)75%124,922 flights · 3.7% cancelled
- Los Angeles (LAX) arrivals79%194,369 flights · 1% cancelled · late ones 67 min on average
- Los Angeles → New York (the way back)76%10,284 flights · 2.5% cancelled · late ones 92 min on average
From the US Department of Transportation’s record of every flight within the US by the large US airlines (August 2025 – July 2026), by the airline you book: a Delta Connection flight counts as Delta’s. On time means it arrived less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time — the DOT’s own definition. Routes need 100 flights in the twelve months to be judged.
Over the last twelve months (August 2025 – July 2026), 76% of flights within the US by the large US airlines arrived on time, 22% arrived 15 minutes or more late and 1.9% were cancelled. Delta was the most punctual airline flying all year and JetBlue the least. Type your route above to see its own record, airline by airline.
How to use it
Type the airport you fly from and the one you fly to — a city, an airport name or its three-letter code — and, if you like, the airline. The answer updates at once: the share of that route’s flights that arrived on time, late, cancelled or diverted over twelve months, a bar for each airline that flies it, and beside it the airline’s whole record, how often flights leave your airport on time and arrive at the other, and the same route the other way. The link under the answer keeps your route.
On-time record by airline
Every flight within the US, August 2025 – July 2026, by the airline you book (its regional partners included). Best on time first.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Late | Cancelled | Average delay of late flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaiian (to Oct 2025) | 33,121 | 81% | 18% | 0.7% | 56 min |
| Delta | 1,652,154 | 79% | 18% | 2% | 76 min |
| Alaska | 474,214 | 79% | 20% | 1.4% | 53 min |
| United | 1,517,239 | 77% | 21% | 1.6% | 79 min |
| Southwest | 1,389,951 | 76% | 23% | 0.9% | 53 min |
| American | 2,029,200 | 74% | 23% | 2.6% | 84 min |
| Allegiant | 126,499 | 73% | 26% | 0.7% | 88 min |
| Frontier | 209,405 | 72% | 26% | 1.9% | 83 min |
| JetBlue | 237,090 | 70% | 27% | 3.1% | 75 min |
| Spirit (to May 2026) | 117,136 | 70% | 26% | 3.9% | 74 min |
Hawaiian flies as Alaska since 29 October 2025 (one operating certificate), so the DOT files its flights under Alaska from then; Spirit stopped flying on 2 May 2026: their rows cover only the months they flew, and they are left out of every “most” and “least” on this page.
The most cancellations: JetBlue (3.1%); the fewest: Allegiant (0.7%).
The busiest airports, most punctual first
The fifteen US airports with the most arrivals in the record: the share of flights that arrived on time there, and the share that left on time (less than 15 minutes late).
| Airport | Arrivals | Arrived on time | Left on time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte (CLT) | 234,604 | 81% | 76% | 2% |
| Houston (IAH) | 171,551 | 81% | 80% | 1.1% |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 350,300 | 81% | 77% | 1.9% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 194,369 | 79% | 79% | 1% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 183,680 | 79% | 79% | 1.1% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 198,700 | 79% | 76% | 0.9% |
| Denver (DEN) | 319,190 | 78% | 76% | 0.8% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 175,036 | 77% | 74% | 0.9% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 312,853 | 75% | 69% | 2.9% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 160,641 | 74% | 72% | 1.7% |
| Boston (BOS) | 144,377 | 71% | 74% | 2.8% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 386,431 | 71% | 71% | 3% |
| New York (LGA) | 166,795 | 69% | 72% | 4.8% |
| Washington (DCA) | 147,478 | 69% | 71% | 3.5% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 150,816 | 67% | 75% | 1.1% |
When to fly: the hour and the month with the fewest delays
The same record, by the time a flight was scheduled to leave (the departing airport's own clock). Across every route judged, the 6–9 am flights were on time 86% of the time and the 6–9 pm ones 67%, falling through the day until the night flights. By month, July 2026 (69% on time) and December 2025 (72%) were the worst of August 2025 – July 2026, September 2025 (83%) the best. Your route's own hours and your airport's months are in the answer above — New York to Los Angeles, for one: the 6–9 am flights were on time 81% of the time, the 6–9 pm ones 67%.
| Scheduled to leave | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| 6–9 am | 86% | 1,599,675 |
| 9 am–noon | 81% | 1,387,690 |
| noon–3 pm | 75% | 1,367,843 |
| 3–6 pm | 69% | 1,371,274 |
| 6–9 pm | 67% | 1,188,712 |
| 9 pm–6 am | 77% | 702,558 |
A block is shown for a route once it has 30 flights in the twelve months, and named the best or the worst only from 100; an airport's month needs 300 departures. Atlanta to Orlando shows how far apart they can be: the 6–9 am flights were on time 84% of the time, the 6–9 pm ones 55%.
Worked examples
New York JFK to Los Angeles. 10,281 flights in twelve months, 75% on time. By airline: JetBlue 73%, Delta 76%, American 78%, Frontier 69%.
Chicago O’Hare to New York LaGuardia. Both ends are among the four least punctual airports in the table, and the route is late more often: 64% on time, 5.1% cancelled. On United alone, 64%.
Boston to Washington Reagan. A short hop between two busy airports: 71% on time, and the late ones 72 minutes late on average.
Common mistakes
- Comparing different definitions. News lists mix “within 15 minutes”, “within 14 minutes” and “departed on time”, and different months. This page uses the DOT’s definition — arrived less than 15 minutes after schedule — over the same twelve months for every route.
- Judging by one month. A summer of storms or one bad week moves a month a lot; twelve months is steadier, and the last month is shown beside it.
- Forgetting the regional flights. A flight sold as Delta or United but flown by a partner counts under the airline you book here, as it does on your ticket.
- Expecting international flights. The DOT’s record covers flights within the US by the large US airlines; it says nothing about a flight to Europe or a foreign airline.
Before you fly
Know what a delay can be worth with flight delay compensation, avoid the worst slots with red-eye flights and the best time to book flights, and check the world’s safest airlines. The Layover Time Checker uses the same record to tell you whether your connection holds, and the Delayed Flight Rights tool says what the airline owes you when it doesn’t.
FAQ
Which airline has the most delays?
Over August 2025 – July 2026, JetBlue: 27% of its flights arrived 15 minutes or more late (70% on time). The most punctual was Delta, at 79% on time.
What is flight on time performance?
The share of flights that arrived less than 15 minutes after their scheduled arrival — the US DOT’s definition. Cancelled and diverted flights are not on time; here they are counted apart, so on time, late, cancelled and diverted add up to every flight scheduled.
Which airports have the most delays?
Of the fifteen busiest, San Francisco (SFO) had the fewest arrivals on time (67%), and Charlotte (CLT) the most (81%). Type any two airports above for a route’s own record.
How likely is my flight to be cancelled?
Across the large US airlines, 1.9% of flights were cancelled in the twelve months — from 0.7% on Allegiant to 3.1% on JetBlue. Your route’s own share is in the answer above.
Which airline is the least delayed?
Delta, with 79% of its flights on time over August 2025 – July 2026, then Alaska (79%) and United (77%).
What is the best time of day to fly to avoid delays?
Early: across the US routes in the DOT's record for August 2025 – July 2026, flights scheduled to leave 6–9 am were on time 86% of the time, those leaving 6–9 pm 67%. Pick your route above for its own hours — some routes break the rule.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which publishes every domestic flight the large US airlines fly, month by month. This tool reads the last twelve months it has published (August 2025 – July 2026); it is updated as new months come out.