Best Month to Fly in the US
When to fly · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Data through July 2026 · Last updated October 18, 2026
On-time arrival rate by calendar month, Aug 2024 – Jul 2026 (each month appears twice in the data).
September ranks first at 83.9%, and July is last of the 12 listed at 71.4%.
The median across this list is 78.9%.
Top 12: on-time arrivals
September83.9%
October83.3%
November82.4%
January80.2%
April80.1%
February79.7%
March78.0%
May77.5%
August77.0%
December76.1%
June73.0%
July71.4%
Full ranking
| # | Name | On time | Avg delay when late | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September | 83.9% | 64 min | 0.6% | 1,145,061 |
| 2 | October | 83.3% | 63 min | 0.8% | 1,221,341 |
| 3 | November | 82.4% | 69 min | 1.5% | 1,145,954 |
| 4 | January | 80.2% | 73 min | 3.9% | 1,083,750 |
| 5 | April | 80.1% | 68 min | 0.9% | 1,181,869 |
| 6 | February | 79.7% | 71 min | 1.9% | 1,019,921 |
| 7 | March | 78.0% | 76 min | 2.0% | 1,212,974 |
| 8 | May | 77.5% | 70 min | 1.0% | 1,217,383 |
| 9 | August | 77.0% | 74 min | 1.6% | 1,221,403 |
| 10 | December | 76.1% | 73 min | 1.1% | 1,172,885 |
| 11 | June | 73.0% | 76 min | 1.6% | 1,219,152 |
| 12 | July | 71.4% | 80 min | 2.5% | 1,263,398 |
80%+ good 70–79.9% fair <70% poor