New York to Buffalo

What the Data Says About LGA to BUF

The New York to Buffalo corridor (LGA → BUF) covers roughly 292 miles and is served by 8 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,006 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84% on-time rate with an average delay of 70.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,802 flights were recorded on this pairing — 155 cancelled (4.1%) and 6 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 8 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,006 total flights analyzed, the 84% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 70.6-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 Jun 2025 came in at 65% on-time — a 31-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LGA to BUF route, the combination of a 84% on-time rate, 70.6-minute average delay, 4.1% recent cancellation rate, and 8 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.