Best time to fly out of Appleton (ATW)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Appleton: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.8% of the time, against 70.6% in the 6–8pm 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 | 88 | 90 | 93 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 87 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 83 | 81 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 84 | 83 |
| 10am–12pm | 80 | 79 | 81 | 82 | 77 | 84 | 79 |
| 12–2pm | 74 | 77 | 79 | 82 | 75 | 80 | 74 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 74 | 77 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 78 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | 68 | – | 71 | 64 | 72 | 74 | 75 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ATW was Before 6am — 90.8% of departures left on time across 1,711 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 70.6%. 6–8am departures from ATW left on time 88.3% of the time across 5,489 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.6% across 690. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ATW
January was the hard month at ATW: 75.3% of departures left on time, across 1,632 flights. October was the easy one at 86.8%. 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 | 75.3% | 1,632 |
| February | 81.6% | 1,596 |
| March | 77.5% | 1,972 |
| April | 83.4% | 1,959 |
| May | 84.1% | 1,914 |
| June | 80.1% | 1,806 |
| July | 79.7% | 1,708 |
| August | 83.8% | 1,528 |
| September | 84.8% | 1,427 |
| October | 86.8% | 1,624 |
| November | 83.6% | 1,601 |
| December | 76.1% | 1,698 |
Airlines at ATW
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ATW, 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 | 79.1% | 108 min | 2% | 11,205 |
| Allegiant Air | 83.2% | 101 min | 1.2% | 4,415 |
| Envoy Air | 83.6% | 79 min | 2% | 3,356 |
| Delta Air Lines | 89.9% | 153 min | 1.2% | 1,058 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.8% | 123 min | 0% | 239 |
| PSA Airlines | 75% | 85 min | 5.3% | 152 |
What delays out of ATW were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,335 flights that departed ATW and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 49.2% put down to airline operations and 19.1% to air traffic & airport volume.
- Late-arriving aircraft 18%
- Airline operations 49.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.1%
- Severe weather 13.7%
- Security 0%
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 ATW
Of 20,469 scheduled arrivals into ATW, 75% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,683 arrivals that ran late, 48.8% 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 ATW
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 72.2% on time · 6,478 flights
- MSP 77.7% on time · 2,765 flights
- DTW 80.8% on time · 2,762 flights
- DEN 79.4% on time · 1,299 flights
- ATL 85.5% on time · 1,109 flights
- CLT 83.5% on time · 1,001 flights
- DFW 86% on time · 796 flights
- AZA 82.6% on time · 699 flights
- SFB 80% on time · 661 flights
- PGD 80.7% on time · 626 flights
ATW in one number
Appleton (ATW)
Rank 122 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about ATW
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Appleton?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.8% of the time across 1,711 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 70.6%.
- Is the early flight out of ATW really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ATW left on time 88.3% of the time across 5,489 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.6% across 690. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ATW?
- January: 75.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,632 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ATW?
- Delta Air Lines — 89.9% of its 1,058 departures from ATW left on time. PSA Airlines sat at the other end at 75% over 152 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ATW?
- 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.