Best time to fly out of San Luis (SBP)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at San Luis: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.2% of the time, against 75.7% in the 2–4pm 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 | 90 | 84 | 88 | 91 | 86 | 86 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 88 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 79 | 80 | 71 | 70 | 80 | 79 | 77 |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | 77 | – | – | 88 |
| 12–2pm | 74 | 84 | 78 | 78 | 78 | 78 | 73 |
| 2–4pm | 73 | 85 | 75 | 75 | 72 | 81 | 69 |
| 4–6pm | 86 | 90 | 87 | 83 | 83 | 85 | 80 |
| 6–8pm | 79 | 87 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 84 | 77 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SBP was 6–8am — 91.2% of departures left on time across 3,811 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 75.7%. 6–8am departures from SBP left on time 91.2% of the time across 3,811 flights; 6–8pm departures, 80.8% across 1,340. That is a gap of 10.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SBP
June was the hard month at SBP: 77.9% of departures left on time, across 1,201 flights. January was the easy one at 85.8%. 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 | 85.8% | 1,245 |
| February | 82.2% | 1,102 |
| March | 83.6% | 1,299 |
| April | 82.9% | 1,323 |
| May | 81.2% | 1,306 |
| June | 77.9% | 1,201 |
| July | 83.6% | 1,328 |
| August | 84.2% | 1,342 |
| September | 83.6% | 1,306 |
| October | 83.5% | 1,470 |
| November | 82.3% | 1,429 |
| December | 80.4% | 1,399 |
Airlines at SBP
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SBP, 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 | 83.8% | 90 min | 1% | 11,044 |
| American Airlines | 73.9% | 115 min | 0.8% | 2,243 |
| United Airlines | 84% | 136 min | 0.9% | 1,203 |
| Envoy Air | 90.5% | 65 min | 0.6% | 794 |
| Alaska Airlines | 80% | 62 min | 1.1% | 466 |
What delays out of SBP were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,022 flights that departed SBP and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.3% put down to airline operations and 30.9% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 30.9%
- Airline operations 41.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18%
- Severe weather 9.2%
- Security 0.5%
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 SBP
Of 15,748 scheduled arrivals into SBP, 78.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,100 arrivals that ran late, 53.9% 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 SBP
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.
- PHX 85% on time · 3,535 flights
- SFO 71.7% on time · 3,370 flights
- DEN 84.9% on time · 2,184 flights
- LAX 88.2% on time · 1,895 flights
- SAN 81.1% on time · 1,560 flights
- DFW 71.5% on time · 1,282 flights
- SEA 79.7% on time · 1,009 flights
- PDX 87.5% on time · 498 flights
- LAS 77.6% on time · 416 flights
- SBA Not enough flights to say · 1 flights
SBP in one number
San Luis (SBP)
Rank 136 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about SBP
- What is the best time of day to fly out of San Luis?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.2% of the time across 3,811 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 75.7%.
- Is the early flight out of SBP really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SBP left on time 91.2% of the time across 3,811 flights; 6–8pm departures, 80.8% across 1,340. That is a gap of 10.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SBP?
- June: 77.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,201 scheduled. January was the other end of the year at 85.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SBP?
- Envoy Air — 90.5% of its 794 departures from SBP left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 73.9% over 2,243 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SBP?
- 1% 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.