US Airline On-Time Performance Rankings
Compare US airline delay rates, then predict your flight's delay chance with live weather + FAA data.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), January 2023 to December 2025. A flight is delayed if it arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are excluded. Rates cover each airline's own mainline flights (14,670,624 flights across the 8 ranked airlines); all reporting carriers together: 21.2%.
US flight delay rate: 21.2% of domestic flights arrived 15 or more minutes late (BTS, January 2023 to December 2025). Cancellation rate: 1.41% of scheduled flights (BTS, 2024 to 2025).
Most reliable US airlines
Most reliable means the lowest delay rate among the active US airlines in the historical delay-rate comparison on this page. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines lead that list.
Historical delay rate (15+ min late) by airline
Percentage of flights arriving 15+ minutes late, from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Window: January 2023 to December 2025. Lower is better.
Full Rankings — Active US Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines routes are now operated by Alaska Airlines (AS) following full integration in April 2026, so Hawaiian is not ranked separately. Spirit Airlines (NK) ceased all operations on May 2, 2026. Sun Country is not ranked because the BTS files used here contain no Sun Country flights.
This ranking lists 8 active mainline airlines with a BTS row. Hawaiian is historical and modelled under Alaska, and Spirit ceased on May 2, 2026, so neither is ranked here. The delay model scores 14 carriers with training rows, including regional airlines. That model count is not this ranking. You can select 8 airlines for a new prediction.
Delta Air Lines (DL)
Hubs: ATL, JFK, MSP, DTW · 2,983,184 flights · cancellations 1.00% (2024–2025)
17.8%
United Airlines (UA)
Hubs: ORD, EWR, IAH, DEN · 2,252,227 flights · cancellations 1.22% (2024–2025)
20.7%
Southwest Airlines (WN)
Hubs: DAL, MDW, HOU, BWI · 4,202,672 flights · cancellations 0.84% (2024–2025)
21.3%
Alaska Airlines (AS)
Hubs: SEA, PDX, LAX, SFO · 724,893 flights · cancellations 1.58% (2024–2025) · Alaska-operated flights only, Hawaiian's record is listed below
21.6%
Allegiant Air (G4)
Hubs: LAS, SFB, PIE, AZA · 359,199 flights · cancellations 1.06% (2024–2025)
24.2%
American Airlines (AA)
Hubs: DFW, CLT, ORD, MIA · 2,847,015 flights · cancellations 1.68% (2024–2025)
25.0%
JetBlue Airways (B6)
Hubs: JFK, BOS, FLL, LAX · 730,301 flights · cancellations 1.60% (2024–2025)
27.8%
Frontier Airlines (F9)
Hubs: DEN · 571,133 flights · cancellations 2.05% (2024–2025)
29.3%
Not in the live ranking
Spirit Airlines (NK) · historical BTS rate 25.2%
ceased operations May 2, 2026; historical record. Same window as above, 705,662 flights.
Hawaiian Airlines (HA) · historical BTS rate 18.9%
Historical. Hawaiian was fully integrated into Alaska Airlines in April 2026 and is modelled under Alaska. Same window as above, 236,810 flights.
Sun Country Airlines (SY) · no BTS sample
No flights in the BTS files used here, so no delay rate is shown.
Regional Carriers
These airlines operate the regional jets behind brands like American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express. Your boarding pass says "Delta" — the aircraft and crew may be one of these operators. Each rate is that carrier's own flights that arrived 15 or more minutes late, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS), the same window and definition as the ranking above.
Endeavor Air(9E)Delta Connection
Hubs: ATL, DTW, MSP, JFK · Fleet: ~141 CRJ-700/900 · 391,977 flights
14.9%
BTS, Jan 2023–Dec 2025
Republic Airways(YX)American Eagle / United Express / Delta Connection
Hubs: DCA, ORD, EWR, IAD · Fleet: ~254 E175 · 915,840 flights
16.5%
BTS, Jan 2023–Dec 2025
SkyWest Airlines(OO)Delta Connection / United Express / Alaska / AA
Hubs: ORD, DEN, SLC, SFO · Fleet: ~475 CRJ/E175 · 2,223,949 flights
18.8%
BTS, Jan 2023–Dec 2025
Envoy Air(MQ)American Eagle
Hubs: ORD, DFW, MIA, PHX · Fleet: ~179 E170/E175 · 791,847 flights
20.2%
BTS, Jan 2023–Dec 2025
PSA Airlines(OH)American Eagle
Hubs: CLT, DFW, PHL, DCA · Fleet: ~150 CRJ-700/900 · 651,427 flights
22.4%
BTS, Jan 2023–Dec 2025
Regional carriers use the marketing flight number of their parent brand (e.g. DL4832 is operated by SkyWest). DelayGuard's AI model scores regional-operated flights under their actual operating carrier for accuracy.
What the Rankings Tell Us
The spread is real but not huge
Delta Air Lines had the lowest delay rate (17.8%) and Frontier Airlines the highest (29.3%), a gap of 11.5 percentage points. All reporting carriers together ran 21.2%.
Low-fare carriers sit at the high end
Frontier (29.3%) and JetBlue (27.8%) had the two highest delay rates in this window. Spirit, before it ceased operations on May 2, 2026, ran 25.2% over the same period (historical).
Fares do not track delay rates
Delta (17.8%) and United (20.7%) ran below Southwest (21.3%), while American (25.0%) ran above it. Higher fares do not guarantee on-time performance.
Hub choice matters as much as airline
The same airline performs differently at different hubs. American Airlines flights departing Sky Harbor (PHX) were 20.3% late versus 31.4% from DFW (airports with at least 100,000 American Airlines departures). Check where you connect, not just which airline.
Airline Delay FAQs
Which US airline has the fewest delays?▾
Delta Air Lines had the lowest delay rate among active US airlines at 17.8% of flights arriving 15 or more minutes late (BTS, January 2023 to December 2025). United Airlines was next at 20.7%. Hawaiian Airlines, which was fully integrated into Alaska Airlines in April 2026, had a historical rate of 18.9% over the same window and is not ranked separately.
Which US airline is worst for on-time performance?▾
Frontier Airlines had the highest delay rate at 29.3%, followed by JetBlue Airways at 27.8% (BTS, January 2023 to December 2025). Spirit Airlines ceased all operations on May 2, 2026; its historical rate over the same window was 25.2%.
Does booking a more expensive airline guarantee fewer delays?▾
No. In this window Delta (17.8%) and United (20.7%) ran below Southwest (21.3%), but American (25.0%) ran above it. An airline's rate also changes by airport, so the route matters more than the fare.
What is the most common cause of US airline delays?▾
BTS records a cause category for delays (carrier, weather, national aviation system, security and late-arriving aircraft). The extract behind this index does not include those cause shares, so no cause percentage is shown. This index ranks airlines by how often flights were late.
How can I predict if my specific airline flight will be delayed?▾
DelayGuard gives you an AI delay risk score for your specific flight, using your airline's history on that route, current weather at origin and destination, and FAA traffic advisories. It is more useful than an airline average because it accounts for your route, day and departure time.
Ready to check your next flight?
Airline averages are a useful guide — but your specific route, date, and departure time determine your actual risk. Get an AI prediction for your exact trip.
Predict Delay Risk →Delay statistics: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), January 2023 to December 2025, flights arriving 15 or more minutes after their scheduled arrival (the BTS and DOT standard). Cancellation rates cover 2024 to 2025. These are the same figures shown on each airline's page. Live predictions combine this history with current weather and FAA advisories.