Best time to fly out of San Antonio (SAT)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at San Antonio: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.2% of the time, against 64.4% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 94 95 95 94 93 94 95
6–8am 92 93 94 93 91 92 92
8–10am 87 90 91 90 89 89 89
10am–12pm 84 88 87 84 85 86 84
12–2pm 78 83 83 79 75 78 79
2–4pm 76 81 80 75 73 80 75
4–6pm 73 76 75 69 72 75 70
6–8pm 72 75 73 67 69 70 64
8–10pm 65 72 71 61 65 65 60
10pm–12am – – – 77 63 – 66
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at SAT was Before 6am — 94.2% of departures left on time across 10,172 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 64.4%. 6–8am departures from SAT left on time 92.6% of the time across 24,771 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.9% across 12,532. That is a gap of 22.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at SAT

June was the hard month at SAT: 74.8% of departures left on time, across 10,618 flights. February was the easy one at 86.5%. 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, 82%.
Departure on-time share at SAT by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 83.1% 9,303
February 86.5% 8,617
March 81.6% 10,528
April 82% 10,321
May 77.3% 10,779
June 74.8% 10,618
July 75.8% 10,937
August 82.7% 10,593
September 86.3% 10,100
October 85.6% 11,046
November 86.4% 10,296
December 82.9% 10,628

Airlines at SAT

Every airline with at least 100 departures from SAT, 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 80.4% 52 min 0.7% 48,367
American Airlines 81.4% 106 min 1.9% 23,289
Delta Air Lines 84.8% 84 min 1% 19,431
United Airlines 87.5% 91 min 1.1% 16,925
Spirit Airlines 78.5% 80 min 1.9% 4,890
SkyWest Airlines 86% 105 min 1% 3,810
Frontier Airlines 74.7% 86 min 2.2% 2,380
Envoy Air 75.6% 70 min 2.9% 1,850
Alaska Airlines 75.2% 47 min 0.7% 1,721
JetBlue Airways 64.8% 105 min 2.2% 949
Republic Airways 80.7% — 4.4% 114

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 SAT were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 21,460 flights that departed SAT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.5% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.9% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 44.5% Airline operations 30.9% Air traffic & airport volume 18.9% Severe weather 5.6% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 44.5%
  • Airline operations 30.9%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 18.9%
  • Severe weather 5.6%
  • 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 SAT

Of 123,773 scheduled arrivals into SAT, 76.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 27,770 arrivals that ran late, 55.8% 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 SAT

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.

SAT in one number

San Antonio (SAT)

Rank 45 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 122,338 departures flown

82% of departures left on time

Questions about SAT

What is the best time of day to fly out of San Antonio?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.2% of the time across 10,172 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 64.4%.
Is the early flight out of SAT really more reliable?
6–8am departures from SAT left on time 92.6% of the time across 24,771 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.9% across 12,532. That is a gap of 22.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of SAT?
June: 74.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 10,618 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 86.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at SAT?
United Airlines — 87.5% of its 16,925 departures from SAT left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 64.8% over 949 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at SAT?
1.2% 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.