Best time to fly out of South Bend (SBN)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at South Bend: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 86.4% of the time, against 67.5% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 83 | 86 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 86 | 85 |
| 8–10am | 78 | 81 | 83 | 83 | 81 | 82 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 79 | 79 | 82 | 87 | 76 | 76 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 77 | 77 | 76 | 80 | 69 | 72 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 81 | 85 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 66 |
| 6–8pm | 71 | 78 | 74 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 66 |
| 8–10pm | 68 | – | – | – | 67 | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SBN was 6–8am — 86.4% of departures left on time across 6,269 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 67.5%. 6–8am departures from SBN left on time 86.4% of the time across 6,269 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71% across 1,701. That is a gap of 15.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SBN
January was the hard month at SBN: 71.3% of departures left on time, across 1,776 flights. October was the easy one at 85.3%. 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 | 71.3% | 1,776 |
| February | 77.9% | 1,676 |
| March | 76.4% | 1,913 |
| April | 80.6% | 1,854 |
| May | 75.8% | 1,892 |
| June | 77.6% | 1,807 |
| July | 74.9% | 1,720 |
| August | 79.9% | 1,713 |
| September | 83.6% | 1,799 |
| October | 85.3% | 1,946 |
| November | 82.1% | 1,784 |
| December | 74.5% | 1,814 |
Airlines at SBN
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SBN, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 78.8% | 103 min | 1.9% | 14,974 |
| PSA Airlines | 79.3% | 93 min | 2.1% | 3,402 |
| Allegiant Air | 74.4% | 93 min | 0.8% | 2,854 |
| Republic Airways | 86.2% | 74 min | 2.2% | 370 |
What delays out of SBN were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,039 flights that departed SBN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 48% put down to airline operations and 24.9% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 24.9%
- Airline operations 48%
- Air traffic & airport volume 14.3%
- Severe weather 12.8%
- 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 SBN
Of 21,699 scheduled arrivals into SBN, 73.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,340 arrivals that ran late, 47.1% 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 SBN
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.
- ORD 73.1% on time · 6,746 flights
- CLT 79.2% on time · 3,258 flights
- ATL 79.7% on time · 3,075 flights
- DFW 74.8% on time · 2,855 flights
- DTW 79.9% on time · 1,402 flights
- MSP 85.9% on time · 1,096 flights
- PGD 71.4% on time · 625 flights
- SFB 65.2% on time · 615 flights
- PIE 73.6% on time · 427 flights
- AZA 75.1% on time · 375 flights
SBN in one number
South Bend (SBN)
Rank 118 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about SBN
- What is the best time of day to fly out of South Bend?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 86.4% of the time across 6,269 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 67.5%.
- Is the early flight out of SBN really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SBN left on time 86.4% of the time across 6,269 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71% across 1,701. That is a gap of 15.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SBN?
- January: 71.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,776 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 85.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SBN?
- Republic Airways — 86.2% of its 370 departures from SBN left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 74.4% over 2,854 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SBN?
- 1.8% 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.