Best time to fly out of Hector (FAR)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Hector: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.9% of the time, against 70.7% 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 | 90 | 91 | 93 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 89 | 89 | 92 | 87 | 85 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 86 | 84 | 86 | 82 | 81 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 78 | 82 | 77 | 83 | 82 | 79 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 82 | 77 | 79 | 77 | 78 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 82 | 82 | 86 | 81 | 82 | 80 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 79 | 77 | 76 | 73 | 81 | 73 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | – | – | 72 | 73 | – | 69 |
| 8–10pm | 81 | – | – | 69 | – | – | 73 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at FAR was Before 6am — 90.9% of departures left on time across 2,043 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 70.7%. 6–8am departures from FAR left on time 88.7% of the time across 3,995 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.7% across 594. That is a gap of 18 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at FAR
December was the hard month at FAR: 74.8% of departures left on time, across 1,679 flights. October was the easy one at 87.8%. 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 | 76.5% | 1,718 |
| February | 82.4% | 1,629 |
| March | 82.6% | 1,856 |
| April | 84.5% | 1,729 |
| May | 84.3% | 1,719 |
| June | 79% | 1,699 |
| July | 78.4% | 1,704 |
| August | 83.1% | 1,721 |
| September | 87.1% | 1,620 |
| October | 87.8% | 1,628 |
| November | 84.5% | 1,575 |
| December | 74.8% | 1,679 |
Airlines at FAR
Every airline with at least 100 departures from FAR, 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 | 79.2% | 107 min | 1.3% | 8,172 |
| Envoy Air | 82.6% | 79 min | 1.5% | 5,884 |
| Allegiant Air | 81.8% | 80 min | 0.4% | 2,219 |
| Delta Air Lines | 91.4% | 122 min | 0.5% | 2,130 |
| Frontier Airlines | 79.8% | 75 min | 1.3% | 693 |
| United Airlines | 80.7% | 97 min | 0.7% | 679 |
| Endeavor Air | 88.6% | 90 min | 0.4% | 500 |
What delays out of FAR were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,957 flights that departed FAR and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.2% put down to airline operations and 29.1% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 29.1%
- Airline operations 37.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.2%
- Severe weather 13.4%
- 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 FAR
Of 20,279 scheduled arrivals into FAR, 78.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,159 arrivals that ran late, 53.7% 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 FAR
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 75.9% on time · 5,605 flights
- MSP 85.3% on time · 4,597 flights
- DEN 75.3% on time · 4,300 flights
- DFW 84.8% on time · 2,930 flights
- AZA 84.6% on time · 1,069 flights
- PHX 88.8% on time · 399 flights
- LAS 84.3% on time · 396 flights
- BNA 79.2% on time · 356 flights
- SFB 75.7% on time · 228 flights
- ATL 76.6% on time · 182 flights
FAR in one number
Hector (FAR)
Rank 123 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: December.
Questions about FAR
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Hector?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.9% of the time across 2,043 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 70.7%.
- Is the early flight out of FAR really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from FAR left on time 88.7% of the time across 3,995 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.7% across 594. That is a gap of 18 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of FAR?
- December: 74.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,679 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at FAR?
- Delta Air Lines — 91.4% of its 2,130 departures from FAR left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 79.2% over 8,172 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at FAR?
- 1.1% 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.