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

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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.

It seems that mechanical IME is higher as the day goes on mainly things that occur in subsequent earlier flights like a sensor, etc. More instances for us have occurred on later day flights. My husband almost always flies the earliest flight in the day and the latest flight in the evening for business. This is generally our pattern for leisure travel too. Majority of mechanical are those late evening flights

However, it doesn't mean mechanical doesn't occur in the morning. Our Athens, Greece flight on the 25th was an hour late leaving due to two things: Mandatory flight crew rest time and then when they turned on the plane to do technical checks a sensor went off requiring the engines to run for at least 5 mins before repeated technical checks.

One thing to note is that the early morning flights have a higher chance of another plane being available to swap out. In some of those cases you may have zero idea a mechanical issue occurred on the assigned plane if they were able to swap it out for another one quickly enough.

 

[john7994]

"According to data gathered by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the best time to fly is between 6 and 7 a.m. Flights with scheduled departures in that timeframe arrived just 8.6 minutes late, on average. Meanwhile, flights that take off before 6—or between 7 and 8 in the morning—are fairly punctual, too.

Delay times only get worse as the day goes on, though. For every hour later you depart, you can expect an extra minute of delays, FiveThirtyEight reports. What’s more, delay times hit a peak between 6 and 7 p.m. (reaching up to 20.7 minutes on average!), and they remain at above 20 minutes through 9 p.m. While you’re planning your flight times ..."

https://www.rd.com/article/avoid-delays-best-time-day-to-fly/

 

[brockash]

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.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

This is normal true. Unless, weather or other unforeseen circumstances prevents the plane from arriving the night before.

However, This also assumes you are leaving from an out station or a base that doesn't have a reserve crew or aircraft available.

As a general rule .... maybe more of a guideline, airlines will try to get an airplane into position for the morning flight. I have taken a Jet blue flight from MCO to BOS that departed at 3 am so they could run the 6 am flight close to on time.

The problem is more likely to occur with lower fare carriers because they:

Run their schedules with minimum turns. this maximizes the utility of the aircraft but leaves the crew no change to make up time anywhere in their day.

Run their fleets with minimal number of spare aircraft. Let be honest, each aircraft represent a HUGE $$$$ note every month. To have an aircraft sitting and waiting cost money, and that is reflected in ticket price.

Are less likely to have a several crews on reserve when the crew that was schedule to bring the aircraft home times out.

With some exceptions if the crew is going to be in the next hotel 16 hours after they showed up to work, they can't take off. So when delays happen, even though the crew is sitting at the airport doing nothing, the meter is running....

hope that helps

 

[KrazeeK120]

This is normal true. Unless, weather or other unforeseen circumstances prevents the plane from arriving the night before.

However, This also assumes you are leaving from an out station or a base that doesn't have a reserve crew or aircraft available.

As a general rule .... maybe more of a guideline, airlines will try to get an airplane into position for the morning flight. I have taken a Jet blue flight from MCO to BOS that departed at 3 am so they could run the 6 am flight close to on time.

The problem is more likely to occur with lower fare carriers because they:

Run their schedules with minimum turns. this maximizes the utility of the aircraft but leaves the crew no change to make up time anywhere in their day.

Run their fleets with minimal number of spare aircraft. Let be honest, each aircraft represent a HUGE $$$$ note every month. To have an aircraft sitting and waiting cost money, and that is reflected in ticket price.

Are less likely to have a several crews on reserve when the crew that was schedule to bring the aircraft home times out.

With some exceptions if the crew is going to be in the next hotel 16 hours after they showed up to work, they can't take off. So when delays happen, even though the crew is sitting at the airport doing nothing, the meter is running....

hope that helps

Do they try to position for the morning flight? I live near a regional airport with a Delta flight that departs at 6 AM heading to Atlanta…that plane comes from Atlanta each night, landing around 10:30 PM. Last night and tonight, the plane didn’t come. It was in Atlanta both nights and didn’t fly here for some reason (didn’t appear to be weather). That 6 AM flight departed at 3:20 PM today. It’s scheduled to depart at 11:10 tomorrow. I’m frustrated because…that’s my flight and now my connection to MCO is messed up. And the original reschedule had us leaving at 10:15, so it’s already been pushed back an hour from that.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Do they try to position for the morning flight? I live near a regional airport with a Delta flight that departs at 6 AM heading to Atlanta…that plane comes from Atlanta each night, landing around 10:30 PM. Last night and tonight, the plane didn’t come. It was in Atlanta both nights and didn’t fly here for some reason (didn’t appear to be weather). That 6 AM flight departed at 3:20 PM today. It’s scheduled to depart at 11:10 tomorrow. I’m frustrated because…that’s my flight and now my connection to MCO is messed up. And the original reschedule had us leaving at 10:15, so it’s already been pushed back an hour from that.

The last flight of the night never leaves….
could be one of a dozen reasons why the plane never came in

 

[john7994]

Do they try to position for the morning flight? I live near a regional airport with a Delta flight that departs at 6 AM heading to Atlanta…that plane comes from Atlanta each night, landing around 10:30 PM. Last night and tonight, the plane didn’t come. It was in Atlanta both nights and didn’t fly here for some reason (didn’t appear to be weather). That 6 AM flight departed at 3:20 PM today. It’s scheduled to depart at 11:10 tomorrow. I’m frustrated because…that’s my flight and now my connection to MCO is messed up. And the original reschedule had us leaving at 10:15, so it’s already been pushed back an hour from that.

The last few nights in Atlanta also had the typical summer pop up thunderstorms - especially on Friday - it was severe weather. Looking at the flights departing Atlanta yesterday - there were quite a few delayed after 6P.

With last flight of the night, likely it also runs up against the end of the pilots/crew flight time limits - so any delay can create a potential problem. This will create a crew/pilot out of position for start of day - which means catch-up and repositioning (and the crew still needs to fly to your airport).

However with that said, equipment maintenance / crew shortage may also be at play especially for regional airports. As mentioned by others, there can be a myriad of reasons for what you described in your situation.

 

[pindecisive]

Yep, unless that early flight is flying into LAX.

 

[FriggnOdie]

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?

Absolutely!!!

 

[Lva5]

Do they try to position for the morning flight? I live near a regional airport with a Delta flight that departs at 6 AM heading to Atlanta…that plane comes from Atlanta each night, landing around 10:30 PM. Last night and tonight, the plane didn’t come. It was in Atlanta both nights and didn’t fly here for some reason (didn’t appear to be weather). That 6 AM flight departed at 3:20 PM today. It’s scheduled to depart at 11:10 tomorrow. I’m frustrated because…that’s my flight and now my connection to MCO is messed up. And the original reschedule had us leaving at 10:15, so it’s already been pushed back an hour from that.

They would almost certainly not fly an empty segment to position for your flight, if that’s what you mean.

The schedule is built around full segments.. a bunch of people in Atlanta missed their flight(s) to your airport for whatever reason (my guess would be weather into crew day). They need to put those people on ‘your’ plane and get them to your airport.

Empty aircraft cost the company money - especially when they’re flying.

 

[KrazeeK120]

They would almost certainly not fly an empty segment to position for your flight, if that’s what you mean.

The schedule is built around full segments.. a bunch of people in Atlanta missed their flight(s) to your airport for whatever reason (my guess would be weather into crew day). They need to put those people on ‘your’ plane and get them to your airport.

Empty aircraft cost the company money - especially when they’re flying.

Delta gave us a voucher apologizing for their crew issue. There wasn’t significant weather anywhere and they brought a plane full of people here the next morning. We only have 2 flights daily from Atlanta…one that gets in around 4 PM CST and another at around 10:30 CST. It’s a small regional airport. The planes hold less than 100 people.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Do they try to position for the morning flight? I live near a regional airport with a Delta flight that departs at 6 AM heading to Atlanta…that plane comes from Atlanta each night, landing around 10:30 PM. Last night and tonight, the plane didn’t come. It was in Atlanta both nights and didn’t fly here for some reason (didn’t appear to be weather). That 6 AM flight departed at 3:20 PM today. It’s scheduled to depart at 11:10 tomorrow. I’m frustrated because…that’s my flight and now my connection to MCO is messed up. And the original reschedule had us leaving at 10:15, so it’s already been pushed back an hour from that.

Depending on the airport,
Usually the last flight in at night makes up the first flight out….

The reasons a Flight may not come in are usually weather or unscheduled maintenance….

Sometime it is demand, and the plane is more effective elsewhere….

Sometimes it is a crew issue…..

If the crew was going to be out of time they may not have been legal to make the flight….

Lots of reason that the flight might not arrive,
But if the inbound flight doesn’t come in the am flight will be delayed

 

[fla4fun]

While there are reasons why a morning flight can be delayed, there is more of a risk that an afternoon flight will be delayed. That being said, as another poster pointed out, sometimes you don’t have a choice about the time of day your flight leaves. When I flew to the UK, there were two flights daily, one around 5:00 pm and one around 8:00 pm. For the return, there were also only two flights, one mid morning and one late morning. I didn’t have a lot of leeway as far as booking times and the airline didn’t have a lot of wiggle room if something delayed the flight on either end.

Given a choice, I would book a morning flight heading to my destination and an evening flight coming home (when delays may not matter so much).

 

[Skip Coffee for Rope Drop]

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?

Quite often, the east coast airports with 6am-7am flights of the day are on time. The plane is usually parked at the gate from the night before and is fueled up, cleaned and ready to go. The flight crew are starting their workday, not flying in and then flying back. Also there is usually not a delay on the runway/tower.

 

[Skip Coffee for Rope Drop]

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.

there is an app flight radar 24.
You can look at a flight's history and see how often it is on time or delayed

 

[gmi3804]

We almost always book outbound flights early in the morning, and are rarely delayed unless there's a mechanical issue with the equipment. Afternoon and evening flights are more often delayed, even if it's just a little bit, due to the stacking of potential delays throughout the day.

 

[SL6827]

I like early morning flights as well because less chance of turbulence.