New York to Pittsburgh

What the Data Says About JFK to PIT

The New York to Pittsburgh corridor (JFK → PIT) covers roughly 340 miles and is served by 15 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,691 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 86.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,580 flights were recorded on this pairing — 124 cancelled (3.5%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 15 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,691 total flights analyzed, the 83.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 86.6-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 95% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 58% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the JFK to PIT route, the combination of a 83.6% on-time rate, 86.6-minute average delay, 3.5% recent cancellation rate, and 15 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.