New York to Nantucket

What the Data Says About JFK to ACK

The New York to Nantucket corridor (JFK → ACK) covers roughly 199 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,109 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 85.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,865 flights were recorded on this pairing — 64 cancelled (3.4%) and 9 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,109 total flights analyzed, the 79.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 85.2-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, Jun 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Sep 2023 came in at 68% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the JFK to ACK route, the combination of a 79.9% on-time rate, 85.2-minute average delay, 3.4% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.