Best time to fly out of Billings Logan (BIL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Billings Logan: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.5% of the time, against 72.5% in the 4–6pm 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 94 | 94 | 96 | 96 | 94 | 94 | 95 |
| 6–8am | 94 | 93 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 90 | 92 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 94 | 95 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 92 | 93 |
| 12–2pm | 83 | 87 | 81 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 77 | 83 | 78 | 78 | 77 | 80 | 80 |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 75 | 79 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 69 |
| 6–8pm | 86 | 89 | 83 | 82 | 83 | – | 86 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at BIL was Before 6am — 94.5% of departures left on time across 1,735 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 72.5%. 6–8am departures from BIL left on time 92.9% of the time across 3,269 flights; 6–8pm departures, 84.9% across 1,022. That is a gap of 8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at BIL
July was the hard month at BIL: 81% of departures left on time, across 1,256 flights. October was the easy one at 90.7%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86.2% | 976 |
| February | 86.5% | 884 |
| March | 89.2% | 1,013 |
| April | 88.7% | 1,015 |
| May | 84.8% | 1,108 |
| June | 84% | 1,274 |
| July | 81% | 1,256 |
| August | 84.5% | 1,230 |
| September | 90.3% | 1,086 |
| October | 90.7% | 1,063 |
| November | 89.8% | 942 |
| December | 89.2% | 1,014 |
Airlines at BIL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from BIL, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 87.6% | 86 min | 0.9% | 4,516 |
| Envoy Air | 84.9% | 92 min | 0.6% | 2,873 |
| Delta Air Lines | 93% | 157 min | 0.9% | 2,314 |
| United Airlines | 86% | 79 min | 0.5% | 2,194 |
| Allegiant Air | 76.3% | 84 min | 0.5% | 964 |
What delays out of BIL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,062 flights that departed BIL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.7% put down to airline operations and 26.3% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 26.3%
- Airline operations 38.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 23.6%
- Severe weather 11.3%
- Security 0.1%
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 BIL
Of 12,861 scheduled arrivals into BIL, 80.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,362 arrivals that ran late, 57.8% 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 BIL
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.
- DEN 81% on time · 4,474 flights
- SLC 90.9% on time · 3,152 flights
- DFW 81.3% on time · 2,015 flights
- MSP 88.5% on time · 1,210 flights
- ORD 77.7% on time · 639 flights
- AZA 77.7% on time · 561 flights
- PHX 85.4% on time · 406 flights
- LAS 73.4% on time · 377 flights
- LAX Not enough flights to say · 26 flights
- COD Not enough flights to say · 1 flights
BIL in one number
Billings Logan (BIL)
Rank 152 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about BIL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Billings Logan?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.5% of the time across 1,735 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 72.5%.
- Is the early flight out of BIL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from BIL left on time 92.9% of the time across 3,269 flights; 6–8pm departures, 84.9% across 1,022. That is a gap of 8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of BIL?
- July: 81% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,256 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 90.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at BIL?
- Delta Air Lines — 93% of its 2,314 departures from BIL left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 76.3% over 964 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at BIL?
- 0.7% 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.