The hour of 3pm – 3:59pm (81% average on-time rate) is the last scheduled arrival hour when you can expect to hit an overall 80 percent average on-time arrival.
If you want to increase the odds of your flight arriving on-time, fly early. The Points Guy analyzed more than seven million flights, using 2018 U.S. Department of Transportation data synthesized by Diio Mi, to learn what times of the day are the best – or worst – to fly for on-time flights.
- 90 percent of flights scheduled to arrive between 7am and 7:59am were on-time last year.
- Just 73 percent of evening flights, 8pm – 10:59pm, were punctual.
- Arriving within 15 minutes of a scheduled arrival time is ‘considered’ on-time. In 2018, 80 percent of U.S. domestic flights were on-time.
The hour of 3pm – 3:59pm (81% average on-time rate) is the last scheduled arrival hour when you can expect to hit an overall 80 percent average on-time arrival.
The most-punctual times to fly
- 7am to 7:59am (89.8% on time)
- 8am to 8:59am (88.6% on time)
- 9am to 9:59am (87.6% on time)
The least-punctual times to fly
- 10pm to 10:59pm (72.9% on time)
- 8pm to 8:59pm (73% on time)
- 9pm to 9:59pm (73.3% on time)
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.