New York to Rochester

What the Data Says About JFK to ROC

The New York to Rochester corridor (JFK → ROC) covers roughly 264 miles and is served by 9 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,521 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 77.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,544 flights were recorded on this pairing — 89 cancelled (3.5%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 9 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,521 total flights analyzed, the 78.6% 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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 85% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 52% on-time — a 33-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the JFK to ROC route, the combination of a 78.6% on-time rate, 77.6-minute average delay, 3.5% recent cancellation rate, and 9 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.