Best time to fly out of James M. Cox Dayton (DAY)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at James M. Cox Dayton: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.5% of the time, against 73.8% in the 6–8pm 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 91 | 91 | 89 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 89 | 88 | 91 | 89 | 89 | 90 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 85 | 90 | 86 | 86 | 89 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 77 | 78 | 80 | 83 | 80 | 80 | 81 |
| 2–4pm | 84 | 83 | 84 | 80 | 79 | 80 | 78 |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 78 | 77 | 75 | 69 | 80 | 69 |
| 6–8pm | 76 | 76 | 78 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 69 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at DAY was 6–8am — 90.5% of departures left on time across 5,585 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 73.8%. 6–8am departures from DAY left on time 90.5% of the time across 5,585 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.8% across 3,355. That is a gap of 16.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at DAY
January was the hard month at DAY: 79% of departures left on time, across 1,788 flights. October was the easy one at 89.8%. 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 | 79% | 1,788 |
| February | 80.3% | 1,741 |
| March | 84.4% | 1,909 |
| April | 85.5% | 2,038 |
| May | 80.4% | 2,123 |
| June | 79.1% | 1,939 |
| July | 79% | 1,917 |
| August | 82.5% | 1,948 |
| September | 87.9% | 1,920 |
| October | 89.8% | 2,058 |
| November | 87.4% | 2,033 |
| December | 81.7% | 1,848 |
Airlines at DAY
Every airline with at least 100 departures from DAY, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 81.7% | 104 min | 2.1% | 12,230 |
| Delta Air Lines | 88.3% | 92 min | 1.2% | 3,829 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 83% | 99 min | 1.9% | 3,700 |
| Allegiant Air | 66.2% | 110 min | 1.6% | 866 |
| Republic Airways | 90.4% | 100 min | 2.8% | 793 |
| Envoy Air | 85.1% | 91 min | 2.3% | 778 |
| Endeavor Air | 90% | 110 min | 1.9% | 685 |
| United Airlines | 90.5% | 89 min | 0.5% | 381 |
What delays out of DAY were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,218 flights that departed DAY and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.5% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 41.7%
- Airline operations 32.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18%
- Severe weather 7.7%
- Security 0%
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 DAY
Of 23,264 scheduled arrivals into DAY, 75.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,291 arrivals that ran late, 45.5% 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 DAY
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.
- ORD 75.7% on time · 4,363 flights
- ATL 90.7% on time · 4,066 flights
- DFW 79.9% on time · 4,056 flights
- CLT 81.8% on time · 4,022 flights
- DCA 77% on time · 3,360 flights
- LGA 89.2% on time · 1,044 flights
- DEN 89.8% on time · 1,006 flights
- PHL 90% on time · 479 flights
- PIE 70.2% on time · 316 flights
- PGD 72.2% on time · 297 flights
DAY in one number
James M. Cox Dayton (DAY)
Rank 114 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about DAY
- What is the best time of day to fly out of James M. Cox Dayton?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.5% of the time across 5,585 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 73.8%.
- Is the early flight out of DAY really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from DAY left on time 90.5% of the time across 5,585 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.8% across 3,355. That is a gap of 16.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of DAY?
- January: 79% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,788 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 89.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at DAY?
- United Airlines — 90.5% of its 381 departures from DAY left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 66.2% over 866 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at DAY?
- 1.9% 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.