Guides
Plain-language explainers on how to read federal on-time, delay, and cancellation statistics. For informational purposes; not booking advice.
On-time rank ≠ cancellation rank
According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Lewiston (LWS) ranks #1 of 248 airports on on-time rate at 89.7%, while Aspen (ASE) ranks #1 on cancellation rate at 3.9% - and Endeavor Air leads major carriers on-time at 88% while Mesa Airlines has the highest cancellation share at 4.1%. The guides below explain why those metrics diverge and how to read them together.
- #1
- LWS on-time leader (89.7%)
- #1
- ASE cancellation leader (3.9%)
- #1
- 9E carrier on-time (88%)
- 7
- BTS explainers
Airports need ≥10,000 BTS segments; major carriers need ≥100,000. A high on-time rate does not guarantee a low cancellation rate.
Download the BTS on-time airline extract cited on this page: bts-ontime-airline-statistics.csv (public domain / CC0).
- How to Read Flight Performance Data A short, practical guide to the BTS On-Time Performance dataset that powers every page on PlainFlights. Answers: What do on-time percentage, delay minutes, and cancellation counts mean on an airport page? Open guide: How to Read Flight Performance Data
- Best and Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance Which airlines are most and least reliable based on BTS data, and why carriers diverge. Answers: Which U.S. airline has the best on-time record right now? Open guide: Best and Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance
- How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes How to use delay data to pick flights that are more likely to arrive on time. Answers: How do I compare two routes on delay risk before I book? Open guide: How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes
- Seasonal Flight Patterns When U.S. flight delays spike and how seasonal charts on airport pages behave. Answers: Which months are historically worst for delays at my airport? Open guide: Seasonal Flight Patterns
- Why Flights Get Cancelled Cancellation causes by weather, airline, and ATC, with data on which airports cancel most. Answers: Why can an airline look on-time but still cancel a lot of flights? Open guide: Why Flights Get Cancelled
- Busiest Airports Explained How major U.S. hubs compare on volume, on-time rate, and delay patterns. Answers: Does a busy hub always mean more delays? Open guide: Busiest Airports Explained
- On-Time Performance Explained How the BTS measures on-time performance and how to interpret the numbers. Answers: What counts as on-time under the federal BTS definition? Open guide: On-Time Performance Explained
Compare live leaders on on-time rankings and delay rankings or explore interactive BTS tools.
Editorial standards
Guides draw from publicly available government sources with inline citations. When BTS field definitions or reporting rules change, we note the vintage inline.