Best time to fly out of Buffalo Niagara (BUF)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Buffalo Niagara: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.3% of the time, against 63.3% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 93 | 93 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 94 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 92 | 91 | 91 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 90 | 91 | 89 | 86 | 83 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 86 | 85 | 85 | 82 | 80 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 81 | 83 | 80 | 76 | 77 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 79 | 78 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 70 |
| 4–6pm | 67 | 74 | 75 | 67 | 71 | 72 | 66 |
| 6–8pm | 67 | 75 | 74 | 66 | 69 | 65 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | 64 | 69 | 71 | 64 | 68 | 61 | 55 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at BUF was Before 6am — 92.3% of departures left on time across 3,232 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 63.3%. 6–8am departures from BUF left on time 90.4% of the time across 15,074 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.1% across 7,638. That is a gap of 22.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at BUF
July was the hard month at BUF: 71.1% of departures left on time, across 5,777 flights. September was the easy one at 85.2%. 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 | 78.8% | 4,329 |
| February | 81% | 4,349 |
| March | 80.1% | 5,230 |
| April | 84.4% | 5,207 |
| May | 81.5% | 5,713 |
| June | 76.7% | 5,552 |
| July | 71.1% | 5,777 |
| August | 76% | 5,831 |
| September | 85.2% | 5,541 |
| October | 85% | 5,864 |
| November | 85.1% | 5,282 |
| December | 76.5% | 4,966 |
Airlines at BUF
Every airline with at least 100 departures from BUF, 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 | 79.1% | 54 min | 1.2% | 16,164 |
| JetBlue Airways | 79% | 85 min | 2.2% | 10,318 |
| Republic Airways | 85.5% | 82 min | 3.9% | 8,555 |
| American Airlines | 78.6% | 97 min | 1.8% | 6,168 |
| Delta Air Lines | 80.8% | 72 min | 1.4% | 6,036 |
| Frontier Airlines | 73.7% | 82 min | 3% | 3,158 |
| Endeavor Air | 84.8% | 88 min | 3.3% | 3,142 |
| United Airlines | 85.1% | 90 min | 1.7% | 3,021 |
| PSA Airlines | 74.2% | 114 min | 5.1% | 2,708 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 77.1% | 106 min | 2.6% | 2,365 |
| Envoy Air | 81.4% | 72 min | 1.9% | 2,006 |
What delays out of BUF were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 12,661 flights that departed BUF and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.4%
- Airline operations 29%
- Air traffic & airport volume 23.1%
- Severe weather 4.4%
- 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 BUF
Of 63,644 scheduled arrivals into BUF, 73.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 15,459 arrivals that ran late, 52.9% 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 BUF
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.
- JFK 79.4% on time · 6,132 flights
- ORD 76.7% on time · 5,988 flights
- LGA 83.2% on time · 5,761 flights
- MCO 79% on time · 5,295 flights
- BWI 86% on time · 5,176 flights
- ATL 79.2% on time · 4,180 flights
- DTW 83.4% on time · 3,582 flights
- CLT 77% on time · 3,563 flights
- DCA 73.5% on time · 3,510 flights
- BOS 78.2% on time · 3,077 flights
BUF in one number
Buffalo Niagara (BUF)
Rank 65 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about BUF
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Buffalo Niagara?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.3% of the time across 3,232 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 63.3%.
- Is the early flight out of BUF really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from BUF left on time 90.4% of the time across 15,074 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.1% across 7,638. That is a gap of 22.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of BUF?
- July: 71.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 5,777 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 85.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at BUF?
- Republic Airways — 85.5% of its 8,555 departures from BUF left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 73.7% over 3,158 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at BUF?
- 2.2% 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.