Columbia to Charlotte

What the Data Says About CAE to CLT

The Columbia to Charlotte corridor (CAE → CLT) covers roughly 88 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,625 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 85.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 76.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,081 flights were recorded on this pairing — 26 cancelled (1.2%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 6,625 total flights analyzed, the 85.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 76.3-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, Dec 2023 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Sep 2024 came in at 67% on-time — a 24-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CAE to CLT route, the combination of a 85.1% on-time rate, 76.3-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.