Best time to fly out of Jackson Hole (JAC)
The early-flight folk wisdom bends at Jackson Hole: the steadiest stretch was the 10am–12pm band at 83.7%, while 2–4pm departures managed 70.6%. 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 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 89 | 85 | 84 | 78 |
| 8–10am | 73 | 77 | 75 | 74 | 69 | 85 | 72 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 82 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 86 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 74 | 82 | 78 | 78 | 77 | 75 | 72 |
| 2–4pm | 70 | 75 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 69 | 63 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 81 | 83 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 70 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at JAC was 10am–12pm — 83.7% of departures left on time across 2,423 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 70.6%.
The year at JAC
February was the hard month at JAC: 71.7% of departures left on time, across 1,598 flights. November was the easy one at 89.1%. 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 | 75.8% | 1,728 |
| February | 71.7% | 1,598 |
| March | 75.3% | 1,736 |
| April | 83.2% | 781 |
| May | 81.5% | 1,140 |
| June | 76.8% | 2,086 |
| July | 74.8% | 2,054 |
| August | 78.1% | 2,016 |
| September | 82.4% | 1,649 |
| October | 86.2% | 1,070 |
| November | 89.1% | 671 |
| December | 76% | 1,279 |
Airlines at JAC
Every airline with at least 100 departures from JAC, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 76.3% | 92 min | 1.7% | 6,404 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 83% | 88 min | 1.4% | 4,447 |
| Delta Air Lines | 82.9% | 100 min | 0.9% | 3,508 |
| American Airlines | 69.6% | 149 min | 1.3% | 3,285 |
| Alaska Airlines | 84.8% | — | 3.7% | 164 |
A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.
What delays out of JAC were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,971 flights that departed JAC and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.5% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.8%
- Airline operations 31.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.9%
- Severe weather 8.6%
- Security 0.2%
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 JAC
Of 17,812 scheduled arrivals into JAC, 77.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,610 arrivals that ran late, 53.9% 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 JAC
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.
- DEN 77.6% on time · 4,629 flights
- SLC 85.6% on time · 3,374 flights
- ORD 74% on time · 2,156 flights
- DFW 71.2% on time · 2,034 flights
- LAX 79.1% on time · 1,669 flights
- SFO 70% on time · 1,020 flights
- EWR 72% on time · 797 flights
- ATL 76.1% on time · 644 flights
- SEA 80.5% on time · 553 flights
- CLT 68.6% on time · 285 flights
JAC in one number
Jackson Hole (JAC)
Rank 129 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 10am–12pm. Hardest month: February.
Questions about JAC
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Jackson Hole?
- 10am–12pm. Departures in that band left on time 83.7% of the time across 2,423 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 70.6%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of JAC?
- February: 71.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,598 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 89.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at JAC?
- Alaska Airlines — 84.8% of its 164 departures from JAC left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 69.6% over 3,285 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at JAC?
- 1.4% 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.