Is it true that the earlier in the day your flight is, the better chance it has to take off on time?

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Is it true the earlier in the day your flight is, the better chance you have of no or little delay? Vs later in the day, delays build up?

 

[Ensusieasm]

Is it true the earlier in the day your flight is, the better chance you have of no or little delay? Vs later in the day, delays build up?

Yes, this is true. Also, you’ll have more options to get to your destination if you miss your connection etc.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Yes because you are likely boarding a plane that is already at your departure airport or, has only taken one flight. As the day progresses flights may get more and more delayed as the arriving plane has potential to be delayed each flight and the problem compounds as the day moves forward.

A delayed flight runs the risk of a gate not being available when they arrive which means they would have to wait for a gate which makes departing ontime challenging, and the problem grows.

 

[LadyBeBop]

With an afternoon flight, especially in the summer, you run the risk of pop-up thunderstorms that can delay a flight. Won't get them in the morning.

 

[sam_gordon]

While early flights are more likely to not have delays, there are other factors that might require an evening flight... primarily YOUR schedule. If, for example, you don't get off of work until Noon, you're not going to make a 6am flight that day. Sure, you can wait for the first flight the next day, but if you can be at your destination by supper, it might be worth the try.

Cost. Airlines know which flights people prefer and will often increase the cost for the popular times (supply & demand).
How long it takes you to get to the airport. If you're 90 minutes from your airport and you want to take a 6am flight (again, for example), assuming you want to get to the airport 90 minutes before your flight, you're leaving home at 3am. Sure, you can get a nearby hotel, but that increases cost and hassle.

 

[Best Aunt]

While early flights are more likely to not have delays, there are other factors...

How long it takes you to get to the airport. If you're 90 minutes from your airport and you want to take a 6am flight (again, for example), assuming you want to get to the airport 90 minutes before your flight, you're leaving home at 3am. Sure, you can get a nearby hotel, but that increases cost and hassle.

^^^ This. Not everybody lives near the airport.

 

[Rich M]

I find this very true on the west coast. Since the plane is there from the night before your not waiting for the plane to arrive from somewhere else.

 

[_19disnA]

Not sure I have ever seen actual statistics which shows delays are any more likely at certain times of the day. An airplane can have a mechanical issue first thing in the morning as well as later in the day. As mentioned above, how far you live from the airport matters and who wants to start their vacation at 3am such that by the time you arrive at your destination you are already exhausted? Larger airlines also have more daily flights and/or extra aircraft they can substitute if there is an issue. Budget airlines with only a few flights per week likely don't have another replacement aircraft if there is some sort of delay or mechanical issue. Your choice of airline is probably a much bigger factor that the time of day your flight departs. A few times when my flight has been delayed, the airline let me take a flight from a different airline for no extra charge. That is one big advantage in traveling with one of the major airlines who have those agreements.

How far you live from the airport as well as the availibility of non-stop flights also impacts your choices. If you typically travel from a hub aiport for a major airline, you will likely have more non-stop choices. Connecting flights always make for a longer total trip and you introduce additional variables associated with the availability of the connecting flight. Bad weather impacting the arrival of the connecting aircraft can disrupt your travel even if where you are traveling doesn't have any weather issues. There are several variable to consider when choosing your flight. I prefer to look for non-stop flights, best price as well as something mid-morning since I can start my vacation at a reasonable hour for both departure as well as the return flight at the end of the vacation. Sometimes you can find a flight that meets all of those criteria, while times you have to make trade-offs based on what is available.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

I think playing this game also depends on the number of flights heading to a particular destination in one day. At my home airport of BDL there are several Detroit and Orlando bound flights throughout the day, so if you were to miss one early you could in theory catch a later one. But there are only one or two flights heading to Dublin in one day so if you miss that you're out of luck.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not sure I have ever seen actual statistics which shows delays are any more likely at certain times of the day. An airplane can have a mechanical issue first thing in the morning as well as later in the day. As mentioned above, how far you live from the airport matters and who wants to start their vacation at 3am such that by the time you arrive at your destination you are already exhausted? Larger airlines also have more daily flights and/or extra aircraft they can substitute if there is an issue. Budget airlines with only a few flights per week likely don't have another replacement aircraft if there is some sort of delay or mechanical issue. Your choice of airline is probably a much bigger factor that the time of day your flight departs. A few times when my flight has been delayed, the airline let me take a flight from a different airline for no extra charge. That is one big advantage in traveling with one of the major airlines who have those agreements.

How far you live from the airport as well as the availibility of non-stop flights also impacts your choices. If you typically travel from a hub aiport for a major airline, you will likely have more non-stop choices. Connecting flights always make for a longer total trip and you introduce additional variables associated with the availability of the connecting flight. Bad weather impacting the arrival of the connecting aircraft can disrupt your travel even if where you are traveling doesn't have any weather issues. There are several variable to consider when choosing your flight. I prefer to look for non-stop flights, best price as well as something mid-morning since I can start my vacation at a reasonable hour for both departure as well as the return flight at the end of the vacation. Sometimes you can find a flight that meets all of those criteria, while times you have to make trade-offs based on what is available.

I agree the chances of a mechanical issue are no more or less in the morning vs the evening, while I don't have stats, it does stand to reason that if there IS a delay on a flight, it's going to affect future flights. So that 6AM that doesn't leave until 6:45A is supposed to do a 9AM flight. Well, now that 9AM flight is pushed to 9:30A (assuming they made some time up), Then it's supposed to do a Noon flight, so that gets pushed.

The ODDS are the first flights in the morning will have the plane in place (because it arrived the night before) and the crew in place (because they arrived the night before). The other two things that would cause delays are mechanical and weather. So, in theory, you've eliminated 50% of the delay causing issues.

I agree that shouldn't be the only factor in deciding what flight to take, but it's definitely one of them.

 

[EACarlson]

Generally the only controllable limiting factor for early flights is crew rest. If the flight is very late the night before, they may not be legally able to fly that 6am on time and it might get pushed. If I'm on a flight before 8am I look the night before to see where the plane is and when I get up to see when it got in if it wasn't there when I went to bed.

 

[sam_gordon]

Generally the only controllable limiting factor for early flights is crew rest. If the flight is very late the night before, they may not be legally able to fly that 6am on time and it might get pushed. If I'm on a flight before 8am I look the night before to see where the plane is and when I get up to see when it got in if it wasn't there when I went to bed.

Good point, but I'm not sure that really tells you anything regarding crew except in extremely small airports. Your 6am flight to MCO may have gotten in at 2am that morning (following delays), but that doesn't mean the crew that arrived at 2am is the crew that's scheduled to fly at 6am.

 

[PalmettoPath]

As many have noted, it can be airport/location specific, but a local newscast did a story on this not too long ago and the conclusion was that it's generally true. Mainly because the airport doesn't tend to have a chance to get as backed up early in the morning--which can lead to gate delays, waiting for passengers in security and so on. We fly early for this reason mainly. The one point they did raise is that if a flight the night before was late for some reason and that flight crew was supposed to be on the first flight out -- and they did not get their mandated allowance of rest in between -- then the early flights can be delayed for that reason. We did have this happen once, but thankfully only once (knock on wood).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Won't get them in the morning.

Storms don't just happen in the afternoon..

 

[meremac]

Yes, overall this is true. Anecdotally, though, I've personally been delayed far more often in the morning.

 

[kevtlas]

This has certainly been our experience. Most of our delayed flights have been due to the incoming flight being delayed, causing a domino effect. If it’s a weather delay, time of day isn’t going to matter at all.

 

[jimmymc]

Yes. Delays stack over time, and later in the day you can have issues with crew going over hours or weather as the day goes on.

 

[kdonnel]

I agree the chances of a mechanical issue are no more or less in the morning vs the evening

My anecdotal experience says there is actually a higher chance of a mechanical issue in the morning.

On multiple occasions I have

• Been scheduled on planes that were late coming out of overnight maintenance
• Came out of overnight maintenance with a new or the same problem that required the overnight maintenance
• Maintenance having forgotten to run some required check after the maintenance that now needs to be run.

All of which delayed the first flight of the day for that plane.

 

[sam_gordon]

My anecdotal experience says there is actually a higher chance of a mechanical issue in the morning.

On multiple occasions I have

• Been scheduled on planes that were late coming out of overnight maintenance
• Came out of overnight maintenance with a new or the same problem that required the overnight maintenance
• Maintenance having forgotten to run some required check after the maintenance that now needs to be run.

All of which delayed the first flight of the day for that plane.

Interesting.

I was on a flight a couple weeks ago that was delayed because the AC was out. Flight was scheduled for 4p and left at 430 (or maybe 5).

 

[SkyGuy]

We always fly the first flight of the day; we are morning people, and the airports seem to be less crowded. I have been (majorly) delayed exactly twice. Once when the plane arrived too late from DC for the crew to get their required break and they couldn’t find a new crew to take the flight. The other was in Scotland when the plane needed a part and they had to fly it in from the states. Both times required an overnight stay near the airport. I’m sure we’ve been lucky, but we have flown dozens and dozens and dozens of times. My husband flies regularly for business and is very rarely delayed on his first flight of the morning, but the return flights in the afternoons are quite often delayed. Again, chalk it up to luck.