Best time to fly out of Lubbock Preston Smith (LBB)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Lubbock Preston Smith: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.7% of the time, against 71.7% 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 | 92 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 92 | 90 | 92 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 92 | 90 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 81 | 91 | 89 | 90 | 87 | 88 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 90 | 87 | 91 | 89 | 84 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 82 | 86 | 87 | 81 | 79 | 85 | 81 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 85 | 82 | 76 | 75 | 82 | 78 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 72 | 78 | 67 |
| 6–8pm | 71 | 77 | 77 | 70 | 70 | 76 | 65 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at LBB was Before 6am — 91.7% of departures left on time across 1,496 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 71.7%. 6–8am departures from LBB left on time 91.2% of the time across 4,103 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.7% across 1,950. That is a gap of 19.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at LBB
June was the hard month at LBB: 78.2% of departures left on time, across 1,624 flights. September was the easy one at 87.4%. 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 | 82.9% | 1,514 |
| February | 86.7% | 1,394 |
| March | 83.9% | 1,621 |
| April | 80.9% | 1,538 |
| May | 78.7% | 1,667 |
| June | 78.2% | 1,624 |
| July | 82.2% | 1,624 |
| August | 84.4% | 1,747 |
| September | 87.4% | 1,595 |
| October | 85.5% | 1,640 |
| November | 85.5% | 1,532 |
| December | 83.9% | 1,636 |
Airlines at LBB
Every airline with at least 100 departures from LBB, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 84.3% | 61 min | 0.9% | 8,011 |
| Envoy Air | 84.6% | 89 min | 1.8% | 5,225 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 81.8% | 115 min | 1.9% | 4,155 |
| American Airlines | 79% | 138 min | 2.9% | 1,405 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.7% | 123 min | 5.7% | 336 |
What delays out of LBB were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,228 flights that departed LBB and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.4%
- Airline operations 34%
- Air traffic & airport volume 16.5%
- Severe weather 11.1%
- 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 LBB
Of 19,133 scheduled arrivals into LBB, 76.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,205 arrivals that ran late, 53.5% 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 LBB
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.
- DFW 80.6% on time · 7,884 flights
- DAL 86.6% on time · 4,768 flights
- DEN 76.7% on time · 2,501 flights
- LAS 81% on time · 1,096 flights
- PHX 91.5% on time · 1,095 flights
- AUS 93.7% on time · 976 flights
- IAH 74.8% on time · 456 flights
- HOU 82.1% on time · 347 flights
- MIA Not enough flights to say · 7 flights
- SLC Not enough flights to say · 1 flights
LBB in one number
Lubbock Preston Smith (LBB)
Rank 125 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about LBB
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Lubbock Preston Smith?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.7% of the time across 1,496 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 71.7%.
- Is the early flight out of LBB really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from LBB left on time 91.2% of the time across 4,103 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.7% across 1,950. That is a gap of 19.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of LBB?
- June: 78.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,624 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 87.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at LBB?
- Envoy Air — 84.6% of its 5,225 departures from LBB left on time. PSA Airlines sat at the other end at 75.7% over 336 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at LBB?
- 1.6% 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.