Best time to fly out of Glacier Park (FCA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Glacier Park: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.8% of the time, against 75.6% in the 2–4pm 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 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 93 | 93 | 95 | 93 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 91 | 96 | 94 | 93 | 90 | 93 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 90 | 83 | 88 | 85 | 86 | 88 |
| 12–2pm | 86 | 88 | 84 | 86 | 82 | 81 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | 76 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 81 | 69 | 75 |
| 4–6pm | 76 | 78 | 80 | 77 | 77 | 80 | 75 |
| 6–8pm | 86 | – | – | – | 86 | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at FCA was Before 6am — 92.8% of departures left on time across 1,153 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 75.6%. 6–8am departures from FCA left on time 92.6% of the time across 1,573 flights; 6–8pm departures, 85.9% across 213. That is a gap of 6.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at FCA
June was the hard month at FCA: 78.2% of departures left on time, across 1,562 flights. November was the easy one at 91.1%. 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 | 79.6% | 761 |
| February | 85.7% | 669 |
| March | 89% | 779 |
| April | 90.5% | 613 |
| May | 84.5% | 906 |
| June | 78.2% | 1,562 |
| July | 79.4% | 1,685 |
| August | 80.2% | 1,620 |
| September | 87.7% | 1,192 |
| October | 90.1% | 806 |
| November | 91.1% | 591 |
| December | 80.4% | 785 |
Airlines at FCA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from FCA, 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 | 87.8% | 78 min | 0.7% | 4,533 |
| United Airlines | 82.4% | 99 min | 0.8% | 2,864 |
| Delta Air Lines | 88% | 109 min | 0.6% | 2,489 |
| American Airlines | 68.3% | 118 min | 0.7% | 1,221 |
| Allegiant Air | 74% | 99 min | 0.8% | 728 |
| Envoy Air | 70.1% | 64 min | 0% | 134 |
What delays out of FCA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,149 flights that departed FCA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.9% put down to airline operations and 32% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32%
- Airline operations 36.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.7%
- Severe weather 10.4%
- 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 FCA
Of 11,970 scheduled arrivals into FCA, 81.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,117 arrivals that ran late, 60.8% 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 FCA
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.
- SLC 91.3% on time · 3,479 flights
- DEN 82.1% on time · 3,145 flights
- MSP 83.3% on time · 1,358 flights
- ORD 68% on time · 1,231 flights
- DFW 70.4% on time · 769 flights
- SFO 77.4% on time · 562 flights
- LAX 84.9% on time · 491 flights
- LAS 68.5% on time · 320 flights
- AZA 74.1% on time · 254 flights
- SAN 76.2% on time · 102 flights
FCA in one number
Glacier Park (FCA)
Rank 159 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about FCA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Glacier Park?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.8% of the time across 1,153 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 75.6%.
- Is the early flight out of FCA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from FCA left on time 92.6% of the time across 1,573 flights; 6–8pm departures, 85.9% across 213. That is a gap of 6.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of FCA?
- June: 78.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,562 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 91.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at FCA?
- Delta Air Lines — 88% of its 2,489 departures from FCA left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 68.3% over 1,221 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at FCA?
- 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.