ON TIMEBOARD
SEA Seattle / LIH Lihue

SEA → LIH on time

Seattle-Tacoma (Seattle, WA) to Lihue (Lihue, HI). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
72%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.7%
1,094 flights
Typical arrival
−4 min
median vs schedule
When late
+58 min
average delay
Flights / day
3
2 airlines

72% of flights from Seattle to Lihue arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is worse than the typical U.S. route. The 6 p.m. departures ran on time 76% of the time; the 11 a.m. ones 63%. Most reliable airline: Delta Air Lines (73%). 9% of flights arrived more than an hour late or not at all.

How late?

The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for SEA → LIH: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 62% of the time. About 1 in 14 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 68 three hours or more; 0.7% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 1,094 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Alaska Airlines72971%0.3%−4 min7.7%+53 minAlaska Airlines
Delta Air Lines36573%1.6%−4 min6.6%+69 minDelta Air Lines

Airline = the name on the ticket. Regional flights (e.g. "Delta Connection") count under the ticketing airline, and the operator is listed.

Best time of day to fly

On-time rate by scheduled departure hour (local time at SEA). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

40%70%100%9 a.m. departures: too few flights (82 flights)9a10 a.m. departures: too few flights (62 flights)10a11 a.m. departures: 63% on time (209 flights)6311anoon departures: too few flights (5 flights)12p1 p.m. departures: too few flights (16 flights)1p2 p.m. departures: too few flights (95 flights)2p3 p.m. departures: 73% on time (225 flights)733p4 p.m. departures: too few flights (43 flights)4p5 p.m. departures: too few flights (99 flights)5p6 p.m. departures: 76% on time (251 flights)766p
SEA → LIH, share of flights arriving on time, by departure hour. Hours with under 100 flights are greyed out.
82%+ on time76–82%68–76%under 68%too few flights

By airline and hour

DepartsAlaska AirlinesDelta Air Lines
11 a.m.63%—
3 p.m.—73%
6 p.m.76%—

Last flight of the day

On SEA → LIH, each airline's last flight of the day was cancelled 0.3% of the time, against 0.3% for its earlier flights, about the same. It arrived 3+ hours late 0.3% of the time (earlier flights: 1.1%). It matters more than the numbers suggest. Miss an earlier flight and there's another one that evening; miss the last one and you're usually waiting until morning.

AirlineLast departureLast: cancelledLast: 3h+ lateEarlier: cancelledNext morning
Alaska Airlines6:13 p.m.0.3%0.3%0.3%first flight 11:28 a.m.

Last flight = the airline's last scheduled departure on this route that day, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Times are typical scheduled times over the latest three months.

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026. Best: April (88%). Worst: January (63%).

40%70%100%Jan: 63% on time (279 flights)63JanFeb: 74% on time (255 flights)74FebMar: 72% on time (279 flights)72MarApr: 88% on time (265 flights)88AprMay: 84% on time (274 flights)84MayJun: 76% on time (270 flights)76JunJul: 71% on time (279 flights)71JulAug: 77% on time (274 flights)77AugSep: 78% on time (240 flights)78SepOct: 80% on time (260 flights)80OctNov: 79% on time (259 flights)79NovDec: 68% on time (279 flights)68Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday15973%0.6%
Tuesday15672%0.0%
Wednesday15673%0.6%
Thursday15572%1.3%
Friday15667%1.3%
Saturday15674%0.6%
Sunday15673%0.6%

Why flights were late

Share of delay minutes on flights 15+ minutes late, as reported to BTS by the airlines.

Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 42%Late inbound plane 30%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 24%Severe weather 3%

Cancellations: airline 7 · weather 1

Month by month

Not enough months with data to draw a trend.

Flight numbers on this route

Regular flights with at least 120 scheduled trips in the past year. Sorted by departure time.

FlightDepartsFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrivalOperated by
AS 25811:28 a.m.23366%0.4%−2 minAlaska Airlines
DL 3452:30 p.m.36573%1.6%−4 minDelta Air Lines
AS 2376:13 p.m.26675%0.0%−5 minAlaska Airlines

Worst days in the past year

DateFlightsOn timeCancelled
Jan 30, 202630%0
Jan 29, 202630%0
Feb 7, 202630%0
Feb 2, 202630%0
Oct 28, 202530%0

Questions

How often are flights from SEA to LIH on time?

72% of 1,094 scheduled flights from Seattle, WA to Lihue, HI arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 0.7% were cancelled.

What is the best time of day to fly SEA to LIH?

Flights scheduled to leave at 6 p.m. were the most reliable (76% on time). The 11 a.m. departures were the least (63%).

Which airline is most on time from SEA to LIH?

Delta Air Lines: 73% of its 365 flights on the route arrived on time. Alaska Airlines: 71%.

What month has the most delays from SEA to LIH?

January (63% on time). The best month is April (88%), over 2023–2026.

Is the last flight of the day from SEA to LIH more likely to be cancelled?

Not much. Each airline's last SEA–LIH flight of the day was cancelled 0.3% of the time over the past year, against 0.3% for its earlier flights. If the last flight is cancelled, the next one is usually the following morning.

Related

Domestic flights by the airlines that report to the U.S. DOT, plus their regional partners. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes after schedule; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Past performance is a guide, not a forecast. Method.