New York to Buffalo

What the Data Says About JFK to BUF

The New York to Buffalo corridor (JFK → BUF) covers roughly 301 miles and is served by 19 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 13,155 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 77.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,191 flights were recorded on this pairing — 135 cancelled (3.2%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 19 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 13,155 total flights analyzed, the 78.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 77.6-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 59% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the JFK to BUF route, the combination of a 78.5% on-time rate, 77.6-minute average delay, 3.2% recent cancellation rate, and 19 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.