Best time to fly out of Asheville (AVL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Asheville: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 89.9% of the time, against 57% in the 8–10pm 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 | 89 | 87 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 89 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 89 | 91 | 89 | 90 | 89 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 87 | 93 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 84 | 85 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 80 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 80 | 86 | 86 | 83 | 79 | 77 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 76 | 82 | 74 | 74 | 70 | 70 |
| 4–6pm | 67 | 73 | 71 | 66 | 69 | 63 | 62 |
| 6–8pm | 65 | 73 | 72 | 65 | 68 | 61 | 58 |
| 8–10pm | 58 | – | – | 67 | 58 | – | 45 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at AVL was 6–8am — 89.9% of departures left on time across 5,690 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 57%. 6–8am departures from AVL left on time 89.9% of the time across 5,690 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.4% across 4,120. That is a gap of 24.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at AVL
July was the hard month at AVL: 66.1% of departures left on time, across 3,394 flights. February was the easy one at 83.6%. 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 | 79.5% | 2,107 |
| February | 83.6% | 1,985 |
| March | 81.2% | 2,408 |
| April | 82.6% | 2,585 |
| May | 76.7% | 2,819 |
| June | 72% | 3,115 |
| July | 66.1% | 3,394 |
| August | 74.1% | 3,232 |
| September | 80.1% | 3,099 |
| October | 81.1% | 3,281 |
| November | 83.3% | 2,703 |
| December | 78.3% | 2,431 |
Airlines at AVL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from AVL, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | 76.9% | 87 min | 1.4% | 9,764 |
| Delta Air Lines | 80.7% | 74 min | 1.8% | 6,173 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.9% | 80 min | 3.6% | 4,675 |
| Envoy Air | 73.4% | 74 min | 2.1% | 3,426 |
| Republic Airways | 83.2% | 79 min | 4% | 2,890 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 81.6% | 102 min | 2.3% | 2,469 |
| American Airlines | 65.8% | 105 min | 2.7% | 2,203 |
| Endeavor Air | 80.9% | 86 min | 2.8% | 1,045 |
| United Airlines | 79.7% | 54 min | 2.7% | 298 |
| JetBlue Airways | 59.8% | 85 min | 0.9% | 216 |
What delays out of AVL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 7,578 flights that departed AVL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.8%
- Airline operations 32%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.4%
- Severe weather 7.6%
- Security 0.3%
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 AVL
Of 33,169 scheduled arrivals into AVL, 75.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 7,356 arrivals that ran late, 52.1% 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 AVL
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.
- ATL 84.2% on time · 6,023 flights
- CLT 76.2% on time · 5,054 flights
- ORD 74.4% on time · 3,463 flights
- LGA 80.8% on time · 2,141 flights
- DFW 70.3% on time · 1,989 flights
- FLL 66.3% on time · 1,957 flights
- DCA 68.2% on time · 1,640 flights
- SFB 73.9% on time · 1,523 flights
- PIE 73.2% on time · 1,494 flights
- EWR 85.6% on time · 1,441 flights
AVL in one number
Asheville (AVL)
Rank 98 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about AVL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Asheville?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 89.9% of the time across 5,690 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 57%.
- Is the early flight out of AVL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from AVL left on time 89.9% of the time across 5,690 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.4% across 4,120. That is a gap of 24.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of AVL?
- July: 66.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,394 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 83.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at AVL?
- Republic Airways — 83.2% of its 2,890 departures from AVL left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 59.8% over 216 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at AVL?
- 2.3% 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.