Rochester to New York

What the Data Says About ROC to JFK

The Rochester to New York corridor (ROC → JFK) covers roughly 264 miles and is served by 9 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,520 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 93.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,544 flights were recorded on this pairing — 86 cancelled (3.4%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). 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 8,520 total flights analyzed, the 83.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 93.2-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, Sep 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 93% on-time, while Dec 2024 came in at 68% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ROC to JFK route, the combination of a 83.7% on-time rate, 93.2-minute average delay, 3.4% recent cancellation rate, and 9 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.