Waiting in the Wings
This year, domestic flight delays are set to reach levels not seen since 2000. To help you navigate the country's increasingly congested hubs—especially so during the holidays—we've mapped out the 20 airports in the United States with the heaviest delays and noted the worst hours to travel through each. The best times to fly are, across the board, early morning and after 11pm. Below, you'll also find a list of domestic flights to avoid—those with the least chance of arriving on time.
Flight Delays: The Worst U.S. Airports
Percentage of all departures that are delayed at these major domestic airports, and the hour when the percentage of delayed flights is at its peak*
31%
Philadelphia
6-7 P.M. 49%
27%
Atlanta
9-10 P.M. 42%
27%
Chicago (O'Hare)
10-11 P.M. 44%
26%
Fort Lauderdale
9-10 P.M. 45%
25%
New York (JFK)
10-11 P.M. 39%
24%
Newark
9-10 P.M. 61%
24%
Las Vegas
9-10 P.M. 38%
24%
Seattle
8-9 P.M. 42%
23%
Miami
9-10 P.M. 44%
22%
Boston
7-8 P.M. 36%
22%
New York (LaGuardia)
9-10 P.M. 41%
22%
Washington (Dulles)
9-10 P.M. 33%
22%
Charlotte
9-10 P.M. 31%
22%
Chicago (Midway)
6-7 P.M. 39%
22%
Phoenix
8-9 P.M. 32%
21%
Baltimore (BWI)
10-11 P.M. 43%
21%
Detroit
8-9 P.M. 32%
20%
Orlando
6-7 P.M. 32%
20%
Dallas-Fort Worth
7-8 P.M. 30%
20%
Oakland
6-7 P.M. 33%
Hall of Shame
The five domestic flights with the worst on-time arrival records, plus five other popular routes that are also frequently delayed**
| RANK | AIRLINE | FLIGHT NUMBER |
ROUTE | % OF FLIGHTS ARRIVING LATE |
AVERAGE LENGTH OF DELAY |
| 1 | AirTran | 576 | Atlanta to Newark | 73.2 | 85.2 minutes |
| 2 | ExpressJet+ | 3257 | Rochester to Newark | 73.0 | 65.2 |
| 3 | Comair+ | 5442 | Newark to Cincinnati | 72.1 | 63.4 |
| 4 | AirTran | 340 | Atlanta to Philadelphia | 68.5 | 78.2 |
| 5 | American | 1468 | Fort Lauderdale to LaGuardia | 67.9 | 72.4 |
| Honorable Mentions | |||||
| 16 | Delta | 222 | Atlanta to LaGuardia | 63.2 | 61.0 |
| 19 | US Airways | 11 | Philadelphia to Los Angeles | 62.4 | 61.5 |
| 20 | American | 2278 | Miami to New York JFK | 62.3 | 101.5 |
| 23 | Delta | 466 | New York JFK to San Francisco | 61.5 | 55.8 |
| 25 | Alaska | 329 | Los Angeles to San Francisco | 61.0 | 45.6 |
* A flight departing 15 minutes or more after the scheduled departure time is considered delayed. Figures are from January through July 2005 and are provided by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
** A flight arriving 15 minutes or more after scheduled arrival time is considered delayed. Figures are from August 2004 through July 2005 and are provided by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
+ ExpressJet is a Continental carrier; Comair is a Delta carrier
