Best time to fly out of John Wayne Orange (SNA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at John Wayne Orange: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 93.4% of the time, against 74.3% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 93 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 93 | 94 | 92 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 90 | 92 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 86 | 86 | 83 | 81 | 82 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 74 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 73 | 79 | 72 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 81 | 77 | 70 | 70 | 81 | 70 |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 83 | 79 | 71 | 69 | 82 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 76 | 83 | 79 | 69 | 70 | 82 | 68 |
| 8–10pm | 83 | 86 | 87 | 78 | 79 | 84 | 74 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SNA was 6–8am — 93.4% of departures left on time across 21,564 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 74.3%. 6–8am departures from SNA left on time 93.4% of the time across 21,564 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.4% across 15,255. That is a gap of 19 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SNA
June was the hard month at SNA: 76.8% of departures left on time, across 11,318 flights. September was the easy one at 84.2%. 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 | 83.8% | 10,731 |
| February | 82.6% | 9,937 |
| March | 82% | 11,309 |
| April | 80.9% | 10,916 |
| May | 80.3% | 11,477 |
| June | 76.8% | 11,318 |
| July | 77.5% | 11,599 |
| August | 81.2% | 11,538 |
| September | 84.2% | 11,032 |
| October | 82.9% | 11,392 |
| November | 83.4% | 11,011 |
| December | 81% | 11,105 |
Airlines at SNA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SNA, 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 | 79.5% | 47 min | 0.8% | 43,761 |
| American Airlines | 80.5% | 102 min | 1.5% | 19,863 |
| United Airlines | 85.7% | 89 min | 0.7% | 18,440 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 78.2% | 69 min | 1.2% | 14,196 |
| Delta Air Lines | 82.3% | 92 min | 0.7% | 14,094 |
| Alaska Airlines | 88% | 54 min | 1.2% | 12,763 |
| Frontier Airlines | 77.3% | 78 min | 2.1% | 3,447 |
| Spirit Airlines | 85.6% | 70 min | 1.3% | 3,414 |
| Allegiant Air | 69.8% | 125 min | 1.3% | 3,387 |
What delays out of SNA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 23,159 flights that departed SNA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 42.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 42.2%
- Airline operations 31.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.7%
- Severe weather 3.8%
- 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 SNA
Of 133,364 scheduled arrivals into SNA, 81.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 23,221 arrivals that ran late, 62.7% 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 SNA
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.
- SFO 72.3% on time · 13,393 flights
- PHX 83.3% on time · 13,229 flights
- LAS 81.3% on time · 12,367 flights
- SEA 85.7% on time · 12,090 flights
- DEN 83.5% on time · 11,037 flights
- DFW 81.6% on time · 8,819 flights
- SJC 86.6% on time · 8,068 flights
- OAK 85.7% on time · 7,759 flights
- SMF 85% on time · 6,765 flights
- ORD 81.2% on time · 6,534 flights
SNA in one number
John Wayne Orange (SNA)
Rank 42 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about SNA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of John Wayne Orange?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 93.4% of the time across 21,564 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 74.3%.
- Is the early flight out of SNA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SNA left on time 93.4% of the time across 21,564 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.4% across 15,255. That is a gap of 19 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SNA?
- June: 76.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 11,318 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 84.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SNA?
- Alaska Airlines — 88% of its 12,763 departures from SNA left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 69.8% over 3,387 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SNA?
- 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.