Best time to fly out of Burbank (BUR)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 94.9% of the time, against 71% 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 – – – – – – –
6–8am 95 95 96 96 94 95 94
8–10am 87 91 92 89 87 89 88
10am–12pm 85 89 90 87 83 86 83
12–2pm 76 84 82 76 73 82 76
2–4pm 74 84 80 75 69 80 69
4–6pm 76 83 84 72 71 84 70
6–8pm 76 83 80 72 69 83 69
8–10pm 74 79 74 69 70 76 61
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at BUR was 6–8am — 94.9% of departures left on time across 12,168 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 71%. 6–8am departures from BUR left on time 94.9% of the time across 12,168 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.3% across 10,001. That is a gap of 19.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at BUR

June was the hard month at BUR: 77.6% of departures left on time, across 7,869 flights. January was the easy one at 85.4%. 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, 81.7%.
Departure on-time share at BUR by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 85.4% 6,815
February 84.4% 6,379
March 81.8% 7,353
April 82.3% 7,282
May 79.8% 7,554
June 77.6% 7,869
July 79.7% 8,132
August 82.8% 7,936
September 83.7% 7,772
October 81.3% 8,031
November 83.4% 7,881
December 79.7% 8,015

Airlines at BUR

Every airline with at least 100 departures from BUR, 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
Southwest Airlines 82.2% 53 min 1.2% 55,983
SkyWest Airlines 81.8% 72 min 0.9% 12,142
Alaska Airlines 85.6% 58 min 1.7% 7,136
United Airlines 77.5% 73 min 1% 5,278
Spirit Airlines 79.7% 70 min 2% 4,058
American Airlines 83.9% 122 min 1.4% 3,052
Delta Air Lines 78.9% 112 min 1.4% 1,612
JetBlue Airways 49.8% 102 min 3.4% 726
Envoy Air 83.3% 89 min 0.6% 500
Frontier Airlines 76.3% 93 min 1% 418
Allegiant Air 74.6% — 0% 114

A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.

What delays out of BUR were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 15,371 flights that departed BUR and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 48.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 25.4% to air traffic & airport volume.

Late-arriving aircraft 48.8% Airline operations 22.3% Air traffic & airport volume 25.4% Severe weather 3.4% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 48.8%
  • Airline operations 22.3%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 25.4%
  • Severe weather 3.4%
  • Security 0.1%

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 BUR

Of 91,024 scheduled arrivals into BUR, 79.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 17,604 arrivals that ran late, 59.7% 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 BUR

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.

BUR in one number

Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope (BUR)

Rank 51 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 89,874 departures flown

81.7% of departures left on time

Questions about BUR

What is the best time of day to fly out of Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 94.9% of the time across 12,168 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 71%.
Is the early flight out of BUR really more reliable?
6–8am departures from BUR left on time 94.9% of the time across 12,168 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.3% across 10,001. That is a gap of 19.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of BUR?
June: 77.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 7,869 scheduled. January was the other end of the year at 85.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at BUR?
Alaska Airlines — 85.6% of its 7,136 departures from BUR left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 49.8% over 726 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at BUR?
1.3% 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.