New York to Syracuse

What the Data Says About JFK to SYR

The New York to Syracuse corridor (JFK → SYR) covers roughly 209 miles and is served by 11 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,916 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 74.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,123 flights were recorded on this pairing — 71 cancelled (3.3%) and 3 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 11 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 6,916 total flights analyzed, the 80.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 74.6-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 96% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 63% on-time — a 33-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the JFK to SYR route, the combination of a 80.1% on-time rate, 74.6-minute average delay, 3.3% recent cancellation rate, and 11 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.