Best time to fly out of Oakland (OAK)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Oakland San Francisco Bay: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.4% of the time, against 60.7% in the 10pm–12am 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 94 95 95 95 94 93 95
6–8am 93 95 95 95 94 93 95
8–10am 86 90 90 89 85 89 88
10am–12pm 82 87 86 83 80 84 82
12–2pm 77 84 84 77 72 80 76
2–4pm 68 79 76 70 62 77 66
4–6pm 72 80 76 66 62 75 64
6–8pm 70 80 75 62 64 75 62
8–10pm 66 77 73 54 59 70 59
10pm–12am 73 – – 61 66 – 49
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at OAK was Before 6am — 94.4% of departures left on time across 6,246 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 60.7%. 6–8am departures from OAK left on time 94.3% of the time across 17,200 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.4% across 14,322. That is a gap of 24.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at OAK

June was the hard month at OAK: 72.6% of departures left on time, across 9,265 flights. November was the easy one at 84.3%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 79.5%.
Departure on-time share at OAK by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 84.2% 8,814
February 81.9% 8,210
March 80.8% 9,177
April 80.5% 9,071
May 79.1% 9,509
June 72.6% 9,265
July 74.8% 10,825
August 78.7% 10,452
September 80.5% 9,900
October 80.3% 10,011
November 84.3% 9,558
December 77% 9,787

Airlines at OAK

Every airline with at least 100 departures from OAK, 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 78.2% 47 min 0.6% 98,260
Spirit Airlines 81.7% 68 min 1.4% 5,408
SkyWest Airlines 90.5% 63 min 0.3% 4,237
Alaska Airlines 86.3% 56 min 1.4% 2,616
Hawaiian Airlines 91.7% 132 min 3.2% 2,504
Delta Air Lines 91.4% 102 min 0.8% 1,011
Allegiant Air 83.5% 137 min 0.4% 543

What delays out of OAK were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 20,237 flights that departed OAK and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 35.3% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 46.8% Airline operations 35.3% Air traffic & airport volume 16.1% Severe weather 1.5% Security 0.3%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 46.8%
  • Airline operations 35.3%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 16.1%
  • Severe weather 1.5%
  • Security 0.3%

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 OAK

Of 114,529 scheduled arrivals into OAK, 80.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 21,408 arrivals that ran late, 63.4% 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 OAK

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.

OAK in one number

Oakland San Francisco Bay (OAK)

Rank 47 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 113,792 departures flown

79.5% of departures left on time

Questions about OAK

What is the best time of day to fly out of Oakland San Francisco Bay?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.4% of the time across 6,246 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 60.7%.
Is the early flight out of OAK really more reliable?
6–8am departures from OAK left on time 94.3% of the time across 17,200 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.4% across 14,322. That is a gap of 24.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of OAK?
June: 72.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 9,265 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 84.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at OAK?
Hawaiian Airlines — 91.7% of its 2,504 departures from OAK left on time. Southwest Airlines sat at the other end at 78.2% over 98,260 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at OAK?
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.