New York to Charlotte

What the Data Says About JFK to CLT

The New York to Charlotte corridor (JFK → CLT) covers roughly 541 miles and is served by 12 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,952 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 85.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,739 flights were recorded on this pairing — 107 cancelled (1.9%) and 13 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 12 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,952 total flights analyzed, the 84.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 85.5-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 91% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 65% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the JFK to CLT route, the combination of a 84.7% on-time rate, 85.5-minute average delay, 1.9% recent cancellation rate, and 12 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.