Best time to fly out of Fresno Yosemite (FAT)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Fresno Yosemite: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.8% of the time, against 73.7% in the 10pm–12am 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 | 91 | 90 | 94 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 92 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 88 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 80 | 84 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 82 | 82 | 84 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 80 |
| 2–4pm | 73 | 79 | 81 | 73 | 71 | 76 | 71 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 83 | 83 | 75 | 78 | 84 | 76 |
| 6–8pm | 73 | 84 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 73 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | 74 | 75 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 71 | 73 |
The steadiest stretch at FAT was Before 6am — 90.8% of departures left on time across 1,789 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 73.7%. 6–8am departures from FAT left on time 90.7% of the time across 8,606 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.1% across 3,309. That is a gap of 15.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at FAT
July was the hard month at FAT: 79.3% of departures left on time, across 3,368 flights. September was the easy one at 87%. 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 | 81.8% | 2,813 |
| February | 84% | 2,539 |
| March | 84.2% | 2,973 |
| April | 83.8% | 2,995 |
| May | 81% | 3,368 |
| June | 79.5% | 3,365 |
| July | 79.3% | 3,368 |
| August | 84.7% | 3,293 |
| September | 87% | 3,133 |
| October | 86.6% | 3,344 |
| November | 86.6% | 3,146 |
| December | 80.5% | 3,033 |
Airlines at FAT
Every airline with at least 100 departures from FAT, 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 | 86.5% | 80 min | 0.5% | 20,380 |
| American Airlines | 78.3% | 100 min | 1.5% | 6,548 |
| Southwest Airlines | 78.8% | 56 min | 0.2% | 5,091 |
| Allegiant Air | 79.3% | 91 min | 0.5% | 1,953 |
| United Airlines | 83.8% | 84 min | 1.2% | 1,694 |
| Alaska Airlines | 81.9% | 51 min | 1.6% | 1,156 |
| Delta Air Lines | 72.6% | 91 min | 1.4% | 422 |
| Envoy Air | 88.9% | — | 0% | 126 |
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 FAT were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 6,522 flights that departed FAT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.8% put down to airline operations and 32.3% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32.3%
- Airline operations 43.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 16.9%
- Severe weather 6.7%
- 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 FAT
Of 37,373 scheduled arrivals into FAT, 78.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 7,658 arrivals that ran late, 57.6% 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 FAT
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.
- LAS 80.4% on time · 5,406 flights
- PHX 80.9% on time · 4,447 flights
- DEN 86.3% on time · 4,350 flights
- DFW 80.2% on time · 4,302 flights
- SAN 76.9% on time · 3,781 flights
- SFO 76% on time · 3,607 flights
- SLC 93.2% on time · 3,544 flights
- SEA 81.7% on time · 2,731 flights
- LAX 87.7% on time · 2,540 flights
- PDX 89.1% on time · 1,712 flights
FAT in one number
Fresno Yosemite (FAT)
Rank 91 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about FAT
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Fresno Yosemite?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.8% of the time across 1,789 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 73.7%.
- Is the early flight out of FAT really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from FAT left on time 90.7% of the time across 8,606 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.1% across 3,309. That is a gap of 15.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of FAT?
- July: 79.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,368 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 87%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at FAT?
- Envoy Air — 88.9% of its 126 departures from FAT left on time. Delta Air Lines sat at the other end at 72.6% over 422 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at FAT?
- 0.7% 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.