Best time to fly out of Gerald R. Ford (GRR)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Gerald R. Ford: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90% of the time, against 70.2% 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 | 91 | 88 | 89 | 92 | 90 | 86 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 89 | 89 | 92 | 92 | 89 | 89 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 88 | 91 | 88 | 90 | 86 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 87 | 87 | 89 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 86 | 83 | 81 | 80 | 83 | 81 |
| 2–4pm | 77 | 80 | 77 | 72 | 74 | 77 | 71 |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 73 | 78 | 74 |
| 6–8pm | 74 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 75 | 70 | 72 |
| 8–10pm | 70 | – | – | 68 | 77 | 67 | 68 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at GRR was 6–8am — 90% of departures left on time across 12,812 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 70.2%. 6–8am departures from GRR left on time 90% of the time across 12,812 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.9% across 6,388. That is a gap of 16.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at GRR
July was the hard month at GRR: 76.5% of departures left on time, across 4,683 flights. October was the easy one at 88.1%. 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 | 76.8% | 4,296 |
| February | 83% | 4,109 |
| March | 81.7% | 4,968 |
| April | 85.1% | 4,701 |
| May | 83.8% | 4,698 |
| June | 78% | 4,814 |
| July | 76.5% | 4,683 |
| August | 81.5% | 4,489 |
| September | 86.6% | 4,355 |
| October | 88.1% | 4,704 |
| November | 85.9% | 4,430 |
| December | 78.9% | 4,689 |
Airlines at GRR
Every airline with at least 100 departures from GRR, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 87.9% | 85 min | 0.9% | 7,664 |
| American Airlines | 77% | 110 min | 1.8% | 7,600 |
| Allegiant Air | 81.8% | 75 min | 0.5% | 7,107 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 78.2% | 95 min | 1.5% | 6,689 |
| Republic Airways | 87.3% | 81 min | 3% | 6,487 |
| Southwest Airlines | 80.1% | 52 min | 0.4% | 6,140 |
| United Airlines | 85.3% | 83 min | 0.9% | 4,863 |
| Envoy Air | 79.2% | 69 min | 2.2% | 2,465 |
| PSA Airlines | 80.8% | 123 min | 3.6% | 2,459 |
| Frontier Airlines | 76.7% | 106 min | 2.1% | 1,850 |
| Endeavor Air | 88.1% | 76 min | 3% | 1,612 |
What delays out of GRR were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 11,108 flights that departed GRR and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.8% put down to airline operations and 32.3% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32.3%
- Airline operations 36.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.2%
- Severe weather 8.5%
- 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 GRR
Of 54,943 scheduled arrivals into GRR, 75.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,492 arrivals that ran late, 52.3% 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 GRR
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 74.6% on time · 9,533 flights
- DTW 82.2% on time · 4,473 flights
- ATL 86.9% on time · 4,212 flights
- DEN 80.1% on time · 3,848 flights
- MSP 83.8% on time · 3,832 flights
- DFW 68.7% on time · 3,208 flights
- CLT 80.2% on time · 3,081 flights
- LGA 83.7% on time · 2,957 flights
- MDW 81.3% on time · 2,833 flights
- EWR 84.5% on time · 2,528 flights
GRR in one number
Gerald R. Ford (GRR)
Rank 72 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about GRR
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Gerald R. Ford?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90% of the time across 12,812 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 70.2%.
- Is the early flight out of GRR really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from GRR left on time 90% of the time across 12,812 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.9% across 6,388. That is a gap of 16.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of GRR?
- July: 76.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,683 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 88.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at GRR?
- Endeavor Air — 88.1% of its 1,612 departures from GRR left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 76.7% over 1,850 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at GRR?
- 1.5% 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.