Best time to fly out of Savannah Hilton Head (SAV)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Savannah Hilton Head: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.5% of the time, against 66.4% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 86 94 91 95 88 90 91
6–8am 91 92 93 93 91 90 91
8–10am 88 91 90 92 88 88 88
10am–12pm 83 85 88 85 82 80 81
12–2pm 77 84 85 80 78 77 75
2–4pm 73 82 82 74 74 69 70
4–6pm 70 80 80 73 72 65 68
6–8pm 67 71 74 64 67 62 61
8–10pm 72 76 76 71 71 67 60
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at SAV was 6–8am — 91.5% of departures left on time across 11,002 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 66.4%. 6–8am departures from SAV left on time 91.5% of the time across 11,002 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.4% across 6,650. That is a gap of 25.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at SAV

July was the hard month at SAV: 67.7% of departures left on time, across 5,112 flights. October was the easy one at 85.4%. 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, 80%.
Departure on-time share at SAV by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 82.8% 3,947
February 85.3% 3,785
March 80.9% 4,885
April 81.4% 5,159
May 76.4% 5,368
June 75.6% 5,083
July 67.7% 5,112
August 79.4% 4,740
September 82.9% 4,451
October 85.4% 4,984
November 84.7% 4,636
December 79.9% 4,491

Airlines at SAV

Every airline with at least 100 departures from SAV, 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 83.5% 69 min 1.4% 10,099
PSA Airlines 82.8% 98 min 2.9% 9,823
Southwest Airlines 75.2% 51 min 0.9% 8,399
American Airlines 75.8% 107 min 2.2% 5,795
Republic Airways 83% 78 min 2.7% 4,645
United Airlines 80.7% 94 min 1.5% 4,276
Envoy Air 84.8% 72 min 1.6% 3,150
JetBlue Airways 69.3% 80 min 2.6% 3,142
Endeavor Air 82.1% 83 min 3.5% 2,812
Allegiant Air 79.7% 104 min 0.7% 2,657
SkyWest Airlines 80.6% 96 min 1.6% 1,344
Frontier Airlines 74.1% 97 min 2.4% 289
Spirit Airlines 61.3% 94 min 5.2% 210

What delays out of SAV were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 10,568 flights that departed SAV and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.9% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 41.3% Airline operations 31.9% Air traffic & airport volume 19.1% Severe weather 7.5% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 41.3%
  • Airline operations 31.9%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 19.1%
  • Severe weather 7.5%
  • 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 SAV

Of 56,641 scheduled arrivals into SAV, 76.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,279 arrivals that ran late, 52.7% 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 SAV

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.

SAV in one number

Savannah Hilton Head (SAV)

Rank 69 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 55,540 departures flown

80% of departures left on time

Questions about SAV

What is the best time of day to fly out of Savannah Hilton Head?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.5% of the time across 11,002 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 66.4%.
Is the early flight out of SAV really more reliable?
6–8am departures from SAV left on time 91.5% of the time across 11,002 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.4% across 6,650. That is a gap of 25.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of SAV?
July: 67.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 5,112 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 85.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at SAV?
Envoy Air — 84.8% of its 3,150 departures from SAV left on time. Spirit Airlines sat at the other end at 61.3% over 210 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at SAV?
1.9% 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.