New York to Raleigh/Durham

What the Data Says About LGA to RDU

The New York to Raleigh/Durham corridor (LGA → RDU) covers roughly 431 miles and is served by 30 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 19,534 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 80.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,933 flights were recorded on this pairing — 217 cancelled (3.1%) and 14 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 30 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 19,534 total flights analyzed, the 81.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 80.7-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 Dec 2025 came in at 60% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LGA to RDU route, the combination of a 81.3% on-time rate, 80.7-minute average delay, 3.1% recent cancellation rate, and 30 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.