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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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 – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 77.7%.
Departure on-time share at AVL by calendar month
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

Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Its row covers a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so its figure is not set against the others anywhere on this page.

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 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.

AVL in one number

Asheville (AVL)

Rank 98 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 32,398 departures flown

77.7% of departures left on time

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. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
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.