Flight Guides
Learn how to read and use federal flight performance data. These guides break down the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time dataset covering 2020–2025, explain what different delay categories mean, and show you how to pick airlines and routes with the best reliability track records.
How to Read Flight Performance Data
A short, practical guide to the BTS On-Time Performance dataset that powers every page on PlainFlights, how to read airport, airline, and route statistics.
Best and Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance
Which airlines are most and least reliable based on BTS data, and why some carriers consistently outperform others.
How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes
How to use delay data to pick flights that are more likely to arrive on time, airports, times, and routes that matter.
Seasonal Flight Patterns
When U.S. flight delays spike, why summer thunderstorms and winter storms behave differently, and how to use the seasonal section on every airport page.
Why Flights Get Cancelled
Cancellation causes broken down by data, weather, airline crew and maintenance, and air traffic control, with data on which airports cancel most.
Busiest Airports Explained
How major U.S. hubs compare on volume, on-time rate, and delay patterns, what makes a busy airport reliable or fragile.
On-Time Performance Explained
How the BTS measures on-time performance, what the numbers really mean, and how to interpret them across airports and airlines.
Methodology
Our guides are based on publicly available data from authoritative government sources. All statistics, ratings, and figures cited in these guides are drawn directly from official datasets and publications, with sources clearly referenced throughout.
We aim to present complex government data in plain language that is accessible to general audiences. When methodologies differ between data sources or change over time, we note these variations inline. Our editorial process includes regular reviews to ensure accuracy and timeliness of the information presented.