Oakland (OAK) Flight Delays: Rate, Best Hours and Airlines
Oakland (OAK) is covered here with a statistics page (it is not one of the 22 full guide airports): 18.0% of flights departing OAK arrived 15 or more minutes late across 120,833 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. Southwest Airlines operated 85.0% of those departures. The worst scheduled departure hours are 9 PM (34.8%) and 8 PM (29.4%); 6 AM is the best at 5.2%. 0.67% of scheduled OAK departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-01. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Predict a OAK flight
Historical BTS on-time (15+ min) at OAK
Sample size: 120,833 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 18.0%. Cancellation rate 0.67% of 75,960 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why OAK runs the way it does
Southwest Airlines flew 85.0% of OAK departures in the window, and its flights ran 18.4% late, in line with the airport as a whole. With one carrier that large, OAK's delay record largely follows how Southwest Airlines runs its schedule.
OAK delays peak in July (22.3%), June (21.4%) and December (19.7%) and are lowest in November (13.2%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
Delays build through the day: 6.1% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 30.3% after 8 PM. That is the pattern BTS describes as late-arriving aircraft, where a previous flight with the same aircraft arriving late makes the next departure late.
Spirit Airlines flew 5.5% of OAK departures in this history. Spirit stopped flying on 2 May 2026, so today's carrier mix differs from the one behind these figures.
Best and worst times to fly from OAK
OAK delay rate by scheduled departure hour (hours with 100+ flights)| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|
| 5 AM | 5.7% | 6,821 |
| 6 AM | 5.2% | 10,473 |
| 7 AM | 7.7% | 7,198 |
| 8 AM | 12.3% | 9,123 |
| 9 AM | 12.2% | 9,845 |
| 10 AM | 13.3% | 6,173 |
| 11 AM | 15.0% | 6,507 |
| 12 PM | 17.2% | 6,315 |
| 1 PM | 18.7% | 7,071 |
| 2 PM | 23.2% | 5,417 |
| 3 PM | 26.1% | 5,853 |
| 4 PM | 25.5% | 5,317 |
| 5 PM | 25.5% | 6,883 |
| 6 PM | 24.1% | 7,569 |
| 7 PM | 27.9% | 8,071 |
| 8 PM | 29.4% | 8,497 |
| 9 PM | 34.8% | 2,710 |
| 10 PM | 25.3% | 966 |
OAK delays and cancellations by month
OAK by month| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|
| Jan | 17.8% | 10,033 | 1.34% |
| Feb | 16.1% | 9,102 | 0.84% |
| Mar | 18.1% | 10,235 | 0.58% |
| Apr | 16.2% | 10,198 | 0.35% |
| May | 16.6% | 10,813 | 0.38% |
| Jun | 21.4% | 10,464 | 0.46% |
| Jul | 22.3% | 10,713 | 1.06% |
| Aug | 19.6% | 10,323 | 0.50% |
| Sep | 16.7% | 9,849 | 0.34% |
| Oct | 16.8% | 9,951 | 0.34% |
| Nov | 13.2% | 9,461 | 1.18% |
| Dec | 19.7% | 9,691 | 0.70% |
Airlines at OAK
Carriers flying from OAK (1,000+ flights)| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 85.0% | 18.4% | 102,745 | 0.56% |
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 5.5% | 19.5% | 6,617 | 1.62% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 3.6% | 10.0% | 4,381 | 0.34% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 2.4% | 14.9% | 2,951 | 1.87% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1.7% | 15.3% | 2,067 | 1.82% |
| Delta Air Lines | 1.1% | 7.9% | 1,334 | 1.10% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from OAK
Routes from OAK (500+ flights)| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|
| OAK to LAS | 22.4% | 13,678 | 0.57% | Predict |
| OAK to SAN | 22.9% | 10,506 | 1.33% | Predict |
| OAK to LAX | 16.1% | 9,956 | 0.89% | Predict |
| OAK to BUR | 15.4% | 9,629 | 1.28% | Predict |
| OAK to SNA | 13.9% | 7,901 | 0.67% | Predict |
| OAK to SEA | 20.6% | 6,690 | 0.72% | Predict |
| OAK to PHX | 19.3% | 6,114 | 0.20% | Predict |
| OAK to SLC | 11.8% | 5,822 | 0.19% | Predict |
| OAK to PDX | 17.7% | 5,636 | 0.38% | Predict |
| OAK to DEN | 20.8% | 5,545 | 0.42% | Predict |
| OAK to LGB | 12.0% | 5,260 | 0.34% | Predict |
| OAK to ONT | 15.1% | 4,732 | 0.51% | Predict |
| OAK to HNL | 20.9% | 2,954 | 0.64% | Predict |
| OAK to OGG | 16.2% | 2,544 | 0.90% | Predict |
| OAK to LIH | 14.8% | 2,040 | 0.84% | Predict |
SFO full delay guide
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at OAK?
- 18.0% of flights departing OAK arrived 15 or more minutes late across 120,833 flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). Across all US domestic flights in the data, the rate is 21.2%.
- What is the best time to fly from OAK?
- Early departures run best. 6 AM flights ran 5.2% late (10,473 flights), 5 AM flights ran 5.7% late (6,821 flights) and 7 AM flights ran 7.7% late (7,198 flights). The worst hours are 9 PM (34.8%), 8 PM (29.4%) and 7 PM (27.9%).
- Which month is worst for delays at OAK?
- July has the highest delay rate at 22.3%. November is the lowest at 13.2%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at OAK?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from OAK, Southwest Airlines has the lowest delay rate at 18.4% (102,745 flights). Southwest Airlines is highest at 18.4%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are OAK flights cancelled?
- 0.67% of 75,960 scheduled departures from OAK were cancelled in 2024 to 2025. The US figure over the same period is 1.41%. See the full ranking on the cancellation rates page.
- Does DelayGuard show live delays at OAK?
- The predictor covers OAK flights with a model probability that combines history, weather and FAA data. This page shows historical BTS figures only.
- Is OAK better than nearby airports?
- Compare OAK with SFO (20.8%) on the San Francisco Bay Area: SFO vs OAK compared page. Those are the delay rates for flights departing each airport over the same window.