Best time to fly out of Hector (FAR)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Hector: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.9% of the time, against 70.7% 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 90 91 93 90 91 91 91
6–8am 90 89 89 92 87 85 88
8–10am 88 86 84 86 82 81 85
10am–12pm 78 82 77 83 82 79 80
12–2pm 76 82 77 79 77 78 79
2–4pm 78 82 82 86 81 82 80
4–6pm 75 79 77 76 73 81 73
6–8pm 70 – – 72 73 – 69
8–10pm 81 – – 69 – – 73
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at FAR was Before 6am — 90.9% of departures left on time across 2,043 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 70.7%. 6–8am departures from FAR left on time 88.7% of the time across 3,995 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.7% across 594. That is a gap of 18 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at FAR

December was the hard month at FAR: 74.8% of departures left on time, across 1,679 flights. October was the easy one at 87.8%. 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, 82.1%.
Departure on-time share at FAR by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 76.5% 1,718
February 82.4% 1,629
March 82.6% 1,856
April 84.5% 1,729
May 84.3% 1,719
June 79% 1,699
July 78.4% 1,704
August 83.1% 1,721
September 87.1% 1,620
October 87.8% 1,628
November 84.5% 1,575
December 74.8% 1,679

Airlines at FAR

Every airline with at least 100 departures from FAR, 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 79.2% 107 min 1.3% 8,172
Envoy Air 82.6% 79 min 1.5% 5,884
Allegiant Air 81.8% 80 min 0.4% 2,219
Delta Air Lines 91.4% 122 min 0.5% 2,130
Frontier Airlines 79.8% 75 min 1.3% 693
United Airlines 80.7% 97 min 0.7% 679
Endeavor Air 88.6% 90 min 0.4% 500

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 FAR were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,957 flights that departed FAR and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.2% put down to airline operations and 29.1% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 29.1% Airline operations 37.2% Air traffic & airport volume 20.2% Severe weather 13.4% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 29.1%
  • Airline operations 37.2%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 20.2%
  • Severe weather 13.4%
  • 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 FAR

Of 20,279 scheduled arrivals into FAR, 78.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,159 arrivals that ran late, 53.7% 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 FAR

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.

FAR in one number

Hector (FAR)

Rank 123 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: December.

July 2023–June 2026 · 20,047 departures flown

82.1% of departures left on time

Questions about FAR

What is the best time of day to fly out of Hector?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.9% of the time across 2,043 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 70.7%.
Is the early flight out of FAR really more reliable?
6–8am departures from FAR left on time 88.7% of the time across 3,995 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.7% across 594. That is a gap of 18 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of FAR?
December: 74.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,679 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at FAR?
Delta Air Lines — 91.4% of its 2,130 departures from FAR left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 79.2% over 8,172 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 FAR?
1.1% 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.