Columbia to Atlanta

What the Data Says About CAE to ATL

The Columbia to Atlanta corridor (CAE → ATL) covers roughly 192 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,756 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 91.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 83.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,068 flights were recorded on this pairing — 37 cancelled (0.9%) and 3 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 14 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,756 total flights analyzed, the 91.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 83.9-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 96% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 76% on-time — a 20-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CAE to ATL route, the combination of a 91.3% on-time rate, 83.9-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.