Best time to fly out of James M. Cox Dayton (DAY)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at James M. Cox Dayton: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.5% of the time, against 73.8% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am – – – – – – –
6–8am 91 91 89 92 92 90 89
8–10am 89 89 88 91 89 89 90
10am–12pm 85 85 90 86 86 89 85
12–2pm 77 78 80 83 80 80 81
2–4pm 84 83 84 80 79 80 78
4–6pm 72 78 77 75 69 80 69
6–8pm 76 76 78 71 73 75 69
8–10pm – – – – – – –
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at DAY was 6–8am — 90.5% of departures left on time across 5,585 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 73.8%. 6–8am departures from DAY left on time 90.5% of the time across 5,585 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.8% across 3,355. That is a gap of 16.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at DAY

January was the hard month at DAY: 79% of departures left on time, across 1,788 flights. October was the easy one at 89.8%. 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, 83.2%.
Departure on-time share at DAY by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 79% 1,788
February 80.3% 1,741
March 84.4% 1,909
April 85.5% 2,038
May 80.4% 2,123
June 79.1% 1,939
July 79% 1,917
August 82.5% 1,948
September 87.9% 1,920
October 89.8% 2,058
November 87.4% 2,033
December 81.7% 1,848

Airlines at DAY

Every airline with at least 100 departures from DAY, 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
PSA Airlines 81.7% 104 min 2.1% 12,230
Delta Air Lines 88.3% 92 min 1.2% 3,829
SkyWest Airlines 83% 99 min 1.9% 3,700
Allegiant Air 66.2% 110 min 1.6% 866
Republic Airways 90.4% 100 min 2.8% 793
Envoy Air 85.1% 91 min 2.3% 778
Endeavor Air 90% 110 min 1.9% 685
United Airlines 90.5% 89 min 0.5% 381

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 DAY were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,218 flights that departed DAY and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.5% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 41.7% Airline operations 32.5% Air traffic & airport volume 18% Severe weather 7.7% Security 0%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 41.7%
  • Airline operations 32.5%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 18%
  • Severe weather 7.7%
  • 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 DAY

Of 23,264 scheduled arrivals into DAY, 75.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,291 arrivals that ran late, 45.5% 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 DAY

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.

DAY in one number

James M. Cox Dayton (DAY)

Rank 114 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.

July 2023–June 2026 · 22,826 departures flown

83.2% of departures left on time

Questions about DAY

What is the best time of day to fly out of James M. Cox Dayton?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.5% of the time across 5,585 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 73.8%.
Is the early flight out of DAY really more reliable?
6–8am departures from DAY left on time 90.5% of the time across 5,585 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.8% across 3,355. That is a gap of 16.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of DAY?
January: 79% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,788 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 89.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at DAY?
United Airlines — 90.5% of its 381 departures from DAY left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 66.2% over 866 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 DAY?
1.9% 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.