72% of flights leaving Boston (BOS) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 4 points worse than the national average of 76%. That ranks 69 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 397 flights leave BOS on a typical day; 3.0% were cancelled. 74% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 5 a.m. (89% on time). Worst: 9 p.m. (55%).
- Best month: November (82%). Worst: July (68%).
- Most reliable airline here: United Airlines (76%), vs Spirit Airlines at 58%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (43% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (78% → 72%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving BOS: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 49% of the time. About 1 in 10 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 57 three hours or more; 3.0% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early72%
- 15–30 min late7.8%
- 30–60 min late7.1%
- 1–2 hours late5.8%
- 2–3 hours late2.1%
- 3+ hours late1.7%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled3.0%
Share of all 144,991 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of BOS
Time of day matters more at BOS than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 89% of the time; at 9 p.m. it was 55%, a 34-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 84% on time against 57% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 9 p.m. departures were cancelled 5.6% of the time, against 3.0% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at BOS was a 5 a.m. departure in September (95% on time); the least, 10 p.m. in July (41%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at BOS, with 68% of flights on time across 2023–2026; November is the best at 82%. Summer (June–August) runs 8 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 6 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (4.3% of flights).
Airlines at BOS
Delta Air Lines runs 35% of departures from BOS. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (76% on time) and Spirit Airlines the least (58%), a 18-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 51,146 | 74% | 76% | 3.2% | −7 min |
| JetBlue | 37,517 | 67% | 69% | 3.4% | −4 min |
| American Airlines | 29,961 | 75% | 76% | 3.1% | −9 min |
| United Airlines | 13,310 | 76% | 79% | 2.1% | −7 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 7,340 | 68% | 63% | 1.7% | −1 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,420 | 70% | 78% | 1.4% | −3 min |
| Spirit Airlines | 1,737 | 58% | 59% | 5.9% | +3 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 926 | 67% | 73% | 1.8% | −1 min |
| Allegiant Air | 586 | 82% | 85% | 0.7% | −7 min |
Why flights are late at BOS
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At BOS, 43% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 28%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 4,413 cancellations, 46% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 22 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
BOS vs nearby airports
BOS isn't the only option in Boston. Over the past year PVD ran 76% on time with 3.1% of flights cancelled; MHT ran 78% on time with 2.5% of flights cancelled, against 72% and 3.0% at BOS. PVD and MHT have the better record, so if fares and times are close, they are the safer pick.
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS Boston Logan | — | 144,991 | 72% | 3.0% |
| MHT Manchester-Boston | 45 mi | 7,909 | 78% | 2.5% |
| ORH Worcester | 45 mi | 1,457 | 68% | 3.5% |
| PVD Rhode Island T. F. Green | 49 mi | 17,337 | 76% | 3.1% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 72% of BOS departures were on time, against 78% in the 12 months before, a decline of 6 points. The best recent month was April 2026 (79%); the worst, July 2026 (66%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Monday, Feb 23, 2026, when 100% of 400 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2026 | 400 | 100% | 0% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 360 | 78% | 0% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 359 | 75% | 12% |
| Feb 24, 2026 | 382 | 60% | 17% |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 433 | 32% | 23% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 330 | 32% | 17% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 423 | 29% | 39% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 401 | 29% | 45% |
| Jul 28, 2026 | 434 | 23% | 42% |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 380 | 22% | 45% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from BOS, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.7% of the time, against 2.9% for its earlier flights (1.3× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.4% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to New York (11.5% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA New York | American Airlines | 8:00 p.m. | 11.5% | 2.5% | 56% |
| JFK New York | American Airlines | 5:46 p.m. | 10.7% | 1.9% | 56% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | Spirit Airlines | — | 7.8% | 2.8% | 34% |
| ORD Chicago | JetBlue | 5:20 p.m. | 5.3% | 4.8% | 43% |
| MCO Orlando | Spirit Airlines | — | 5.8% | 4.3% | 47% |
| EWR Newark | Delta Air Lines | 6:15 p.m. | 9.0% | 0.9% | 57% |
| EWR Newark | United Airlines | 8:27 p.m. | 6.3% | 3.6% | 58% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 7:17 p.m. | 4.9% | 4.7% | 52% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 5:52 p.m. | 7.1% | 2.5% | 61% |
| JFK New York | JetBlue | 8:14 p.m. | 6.9% | 2.7% | 52% |
| JFK New York | Delta Air Lines | 9:20 p.m. | 9.0% | 0.3% | 59% |
| BUF Buffalo | American Airlines | 8:00 p.m. | 6.6% | 2.4% | 66% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
BOS at the holidays
On the busy Thanksgiving travel days, flights from BOS arrived on time 76% of the time, against 83% normally (−6.7 points; 16th of the 30 busiest airports). On the busy Christmas–New Year travel days, flights from BOS arrived on time 69% of the time, against 75% normally (−5.9 points; 23th of the 30 busiest airports).
Thanksgiving: best days to fly → · Christmas: best days to fly →
Tips for flying out of BOS
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At BOS the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? United Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of BOS; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Connecting here? See how long a layover you need at BOS.
- Delayed already? Most delays at BOS come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Delayed at BOS right now? See how much later BOS delays usually get, and what to do →
Routes from BOS
Where you're going matters too. From BOS, the most reliable busy route was to Minneapolis (MSP, 81% on time) and the least reliable to West Palm Beach (PBI, 63%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PQI Presque Isle | 365 | 59% | 2.7% | +2 min |
| PBI West Palm Beach | 2,039 | 63% | 3.5% | 0 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 3,306 | 64% | 3.8% | −1 min |
| SJU San Juan | 1,717 | 65% | 3.0% | +1 min |
| MYR Myrtle Beach | 369 | 67% | 6.0% | −5 min |
| MCO Orlando | 4,605 | 67% | 3.2% | −2 min |
| BNA Nashville | 2,939 | 67% | 2.5% | −2 min |
| MDW Chicago | 1,368 | 68% | 2.0% | −1 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 4,817 | 68% | 1.6% | −1 min |
| RSW Fort Myers | 2,167 | 68% | 2.8% | −4 min |
| SEA Seattle | 2,555 | 69% | 1.5% | −1 min |
| SRQ Sarasota | 694 | 69% | 3.0% | −3 min |
| DCA Washington | 9,105 | 69% | 4.1% | −5 min |
| ORD Chicago | 7,860 | 69% | 3.0% | −5 min |
| JFK New York | 5,614 | 70% | 5.6% | −7 min |
| SYR Syracuse | 716 | 70% | 2.4% | −8 min |
| AUS Austin | 1,713 | 71% | 2.4% | −7 min |
| BUF Buffalo | 1,349 | 71% | 3.6% | −9 min |
| LGA New York | 7,442 | 71% | 6.4% | −8 min |
| TPA Tampa | 2,780 | 72% | 3.1% | −5 min |
| JAX Jacksonville | 1,625 | 72% | 2.9% | −7 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,264 | 72% | 1.8% | −1 min |
| EWR Newark | 3,860 | 72% | 4.5% | −8 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 4,794 | 72% | 1.8% | −3 min |
| PDX Portland | 700 | 72% | 2.3% | −4 min |
| PIT Pittsburgh | 2,163 | 73% | 3.8% | −9 min |
| STL St. Louis | 1,617 | 73% | 1.7% | −4 min |
| RDU Raleigh | 2,848 | 73% | 2.9% | −10 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 5,036 | 73% | 3.5% | −8 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,596 | 73% | 1.4% | −6 min |
| SAN San Diego | 1,880 | 73% | 1.8% | −6 min |
| DTW Detroit | 2,575 | 74% | 2.8% | −7 min |
| RIC Richmond | 1,691 | 74% | 3.7% | −9 min |
| MCI Kansas City | 650 | 74% | 2.6% | −8 min |
| CHS Charleston | 1,149 | 74% | 2.7% | −6 min |
| ROC Rochester | 867 | 74% | 3.7% | −10 min |
| DEN Denver | 3,847 | 74% | 1.4% | −5 min |
| CLE Cleveland | 1,620 | 74% | 2.9% | −8 min |
| DFW Dallas | 3,692 | 74% | 3.1% | −10 min |
| MSY New Orleans | 863 | 75% | 1.8% | −7 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 5,050 | 75% | 2.2% | −8 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 2,012 | 76% | 1.7% | −5 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 3,536 | 76% | 2.9% | −8 min |
| ILM Wilmington | 429 | 76% | 0.7% | −8 min |
| MIA Miami | 3,368 | 76% | 2.2% | −9 min |
| CVG Cincinnati | 2,060 | 76% | 2.9% | −9 min |
| SAV Savannah | 1,023 | 77% | 2.6% | −8 min |
| CMH Columbus | 2,003 | 78% | 2.7% | −11 min |
| IND Indianapolis | 2,025 | 78% | 2.4% | −11 min |
| IAH Houston | 2,018 | 79% | 1.7% | −11 min |
| MKE Milwaukee | 737 | 80% | 3.5% | −9 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 4,009 | 80% | 2.6% | −13 min |
| IAD Washington | 1,527 | 81% | 3.0% | −8 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,853 | 81% | 1.4% | −7 min |
| SDF Louisville | 709 | 83% | 1.7% | −11 min |
| ORF Norfolk | 475 | 84% | 1.5% | −12 min |
Flights into BOS
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Boston Logan, least reliable first. The weakest is from Wilmington (54% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ILM Wilmington | 429 | 54% | 2.3% |
| MSY New Orleans | 861 | 61% | 2.1% |
| AUS Austin | 1,713 | 63% | 2.7% |
| PBI West Palm Beach | 2,038 | 63% | 3.7% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 3,293 | 64% | 3.7% |
| ORD Chicago | 7,864 | 65% | 3.0% |
| MYR Myrtle Beach | 370 | 65% | 3.8% |
| DFW Dallas | 3,695 | 65% | 3.1% |
| MDW Chicago | 1,368 | 65% | 1.3% |
| STL St. Louis | 1,616 | 66% | 1.8% |
| BNA Nashville | 2,940 | 66% | 2.5% |
| SAV Savannah | 1,023 | 66% | 3.4% |
| SRQ Sarasota | 695 | 66% | 3.0% |
| DCA Washington | 9,104 | 67% | 4.3% |
| CHS Charleston | 1,150 | 67% | 3.1% |
| RSW Fort Myers | 2,168 | 68% | 2.9% |
| MIA Miami | 3,366 | 68% | 2.2% |
| DEN Denver | 3,851 | 68% | 1.5% |
| SJU San Juan | 1,916 | 68% | 3.2% |
| JFK New York | 5,615 | 69% | 5.0% |
| LGA New York | 7,443 | 69% | 6.2% |
| MCO Orlando | 4,614 | 69% | 3.2% |
| MCI Kansas City | 650 | 69% | 2.9% |
| EWR Newark | 3,860 | 69% | 4.3% |
| SDF Louisville | 709 | 69% | 2.1% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 56 routes into BOS.
Questions about BOS delays
What is the best time to fly out of BOS?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 89% of BOS departures at that hour arrived on time, against 55% at 9 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at BOS?
July (68% on time). November is the best month (82%).
Which airline is most on time at BOS?
United Airlines: 76% of its BOS departures arrived on time over the past year. Spirit Airlines had the weakest record at 58%.
Why are flights delayed at BOS?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (43% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (28%).
Is BOS or PVD or MHT more reliable?
Over the past year: BOS 72% on time, PVD 76%, MHT 78%.
How often are flights cancelled at BOS?
3.0% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 4.3%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.