Best time to fly out of Yeager (CRW)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Yeager: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.1% of the time, against 66.2% 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 | 93 | 91 | 90 | 93 | 92 | 93 | 87 |
| 6–8am | 85 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 88 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 73 | 81 | 81 | 77 | 77 | 72 | 78 |
| 12–2pm | 71 | 75 | 79 | 76 | 76 | 75 | 81 |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | 65 | 67 | 71 | 63 | 64 | 69 | 65 |
| 6–8pm | 71 | 70 | 70 | 68 | 67 | 70 | 61 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at CRW was Before 6am — 91.1% of departures left on time across 870 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 66.2%. 6–8am departures from CRW left on time 86.7% of the time across 2,855 flights; 6–8pm departures, 67.8% across 960. That is a gap of 18.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at CRW
January was the hard month at CRW: 69.8% of departures left on time, across 764 flights. October was the easy one at 85.1%. 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 | 69.8% | 764 |
| February | 77.2% | 651 |
| March | 79.2% | 736 |
| April | 79.2% | 748 |
| May | 78.8% | 829 |
| June | 76% | 729 |
| July | 70.6% | 847 |
| August | 77.5% | 879 |
| September | 82.7% | 874 |
| October | 85.1% | 886 |
| November | 82.3% | 789 |
| December | 74.9% | 717 |
Airlines at CRW
Every airline with at least 100 departures from CRW, 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 | 74.4% | 114 min | 2.2% | 4,516 |
| PSA Airlines | 80.6% | 103 min | 2.7% | 4,472 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.2% | 108 min | 0% | 461 |
What delays out of CRW were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,237 flights that departed CRW and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 47.2% put down to airline operations and 26.9% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 26.9%
- Airline operations 47.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 13.1%
- Severe weather 12.7%
- 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 CRW
Of 9,446 scheduled arrivals into CRW, 70.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,467 arrivals that ran late, 47% 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 CRW
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.
CRW in one number
Yeager (CRW)
Rank 169 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about CRW
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Yeager?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.1% of the time across 870 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 66.2%.
- Is the early flight out of CRW really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from CRW left on time 86.7% of the time across 2,855 flights; 6–8pm departures, 67.8% across 960. That is a gap of 18.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of CRW?
- January: 69.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 764 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 85.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at CRW?
- Endeavor Air — 87.2% of its 461 departures from CRW left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 74.4% over 4,516 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at CRW?
- 2.3% 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.