Best time to fly out of Austin Bergstrom (AUS)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Austin Bergstrom: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.5% of the time, against 61.8% in the 8–10pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

On-time rate by hour and day

On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 93 95 96 96 93 94 95
6–8am 91 92 92 93 90 91 91
8–10am 86 90 89 88 87 88 88
10am–12pm 82 86 86 84 81 82 82
12–2pm 76 81 81 77 75 80 75
2–4pm 70 78 75 68 67 75 67
4–6pm 64 75 70 61 63 70 58
6–8pm 62 74 72 60 64 68 60
8–10pm 63 71 65 61 63 64 53
10pm–12am 65 72 78 64 66 – 52
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at AUS was Before 6am — 94.5% of departures left on time across 11,296 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 61.8%. 6–8am departures from AUS left on time 91.6% of the time across 38,480 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.4% across 31,877. That is a gap of 26.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at AUS

May was the hard month at AUS: 68.7% of departures left on time, across 23,317 flights. September was the easy one at 83.7%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 77.1%.
Departure on-time share at AUS by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 79.8% 19,541
February 82.6% 18,184
March 76.6% 22,494
April 78% 22,262
May 68.7% 23,317
June 69.3% 23,149
July 70% 23,709
August 79.3% 22,508
September 83.7% 21,536
October 80.3% 23,600
November 80.6% 21,921
December 78.5% 22,124

Airlines at AUS

Every airline with at least 100 departures from AUS, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.

Airline Left on time Typical delay Cancelled Departures
Southwest Airlines 73.6% 50 min 0.6% 113,797
American Airlines 79% 116 min 1.7% 39,224
Delta Air Lines 81.7% 85 min 1.1% 35,893
United Airlines 83.6% 82 min 1.2% 30,154
SkyWest Airlines 78.2% 92 min 0.8% 16,351
Envoy Air 77.9% 63 min 1.3% 7,739
Alaska Airlines 80% 55 min 1.4% 7,429
Spirit Airlines 68.5% 80 min 2.8% 3,655
Frontier Airlines 72.2% 89 min 1.8% 3,499
Allegiant Air 75.1% 86 min 0.9% 2,706
JetBlue Airways 60.2% 86 min 1.3% 2,357
Endeavor Air 81.4% 102 min 0.4% 787
Republic Airways 81.2% 120 min 2.4% 337
Hawaiian Airlines 76.7% 129 min 0.4% 280
PSA Airlines 71.9% 84 min 6.6% 137

What delays out of AUS were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 56,870 flights that departed AUS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.5% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.6% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 44.5% Airline operations 32.6% Air traffic & airport volume 17.6% Severe weather 5.1% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 44.5%
  • Airline operations 32.6%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 17.6%
  • Severe weather 5.1%
  • Security 0.2%

Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.

If you are connecting through AUS

Of 264,353 scheduled arrivals into AUS, 76.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 58,868 arrivals that ran late, 57.1% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.

Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.

Busiest routes out of AUS

Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.

AUS in one number

Austin Bergstrom (AUS)

Rank 27 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: May.

July 2023–June 2026 · 261,645 departures flown

77.1% of departures left on time

Questions about AUS

What is the best time of day to fly out of Austin Bergstrom?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.5% of the time across 11,296 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 61.8%.
Is the early flight out of AUS really more reliable?
6–8am departures from AUS left on time 91.6% of the time across 38,480 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.4% across 31,877. That is a gap of 26.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of AUS?
May: 68.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 23,317 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 83.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at AUS?
United Airlines — 83.6% of its 30,154 departures from AUS left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 60.2% over 2,357 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at AUS?
1% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.