Best time to fly out of Spokane (GEG)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Spokane: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.4% of the time, against 78.5% in the 12–2pm 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 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 93 |
| 6–8am | 94 | 94 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 93 |
| 8–10am | 90 | 91 | 89 | 88 | 86 | 90 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 87 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 85 | 86 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 80 | 82 | 79 | 77 | 80 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 80 | 83 | 84 | 80 | 78 | 84 | 80 |
| 4–6pm | 78 | 82 | 82 | 80 | 77 | 86 | 76 |
| 6–8pm | 79 | 87 | 86 | 83 | 79 | 81 | 77 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | 84 | – | – | 81 | 82 | – | 81 |
The steadiest stretch at GEG was Before 6am — 94.4% of departures left on time across 6,350 flights. The weakest was 12–2pm at 78.5%. 6–8am departures from GEG left on time 93.5% of the time across 11,465 flights; 6–8pm departures, 81.5% across 3,485. That is a gap of 12 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at GEG
July was the hard month at GEG: 80.7% of departures left on time, across 4,922 flights. April was the easy one at 89%. 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 | 84.8% | 3,929 |
| February | 86.9% | 3,628 |
| March | 86.6% | 4,302 |
| April | 89% | 4,335 |
| May | 86.5% | 4,589 |
| June | 81.7% | 4,934 |
| July | 80.7% | 4,922 |
| August | 83.7% | 4,816 |
| September | 88.5% | 4,668 |
| October | 88.6% | 4,561 |
| November | 87.9% | 4,354 |
| December | 83.5% | 4,338 |
Airlines at GEG
Every airline with at least 100 departures from GEG, 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 | 88.8% | 72 min | 0.5% | 18,221 |
| Southwest Airlines | 82.9% | 47 min | 0.1% | 11,087 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.7% | 82 min | 0.8% | 8,634 |
| Alaska Airlines | 85.4% | 48 min | 1% | 7,698 |
| American Airlines | 79.5% | 119 min | 0.9% | 4,081 |
| United Airlines | 86.2% | 98 min | 1% | 2,738 |
| Allegiant Air | 69.8% | 89 min | 0.8% | 724 |
| Frontier Airlines | 76.4% | 53 min | 0.5% | 183 |
What delays out of GEG were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 7,904 flights that departed GEG and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.9% put down to airline operations and 35.5% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 35.5%
- Airline operations 36.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.1%
- Severe weather 9.2%
- 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 GEG
Of 53,382 scheduled arrivals into GEG, 79.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 10,687 arrivals that ran late, 62.1% 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 GEG
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.
- SEA 85.1% on time · 15,625 flights
- DEN 83.8% on time · 5,903 flights
- SLC 89.2% on time · 5,004 flights
- PHX 85.2% on time · 3,565 flights
- LAX 90.8% on time · 2,426 flights
- MSP 86.5% on time · 2,386 flights
- LAS 84.2% on time · 2,309 flights
- SFO 79.3% on time · 2,219 flights
- SMF 85.7% on time · 1,883 flights
- DFW 77.2% on time · 1,851 flights
GEG in one number
Spokane (GEG)
Rank 73 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about GEG
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Spokane?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.4% of the time across 6,350 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 12–2pm band was the weakest at 78.5%.
- Is the early flight out of GEG really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from GEG left on time 93.5% of the time across 11,465 flights; 6–8pm departures, 81.5% across 3,485. That is a gap of 12 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of GEG?
- July: 80.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,922 scheduled. April was the other end of the year at 89%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at GEG?
- SkyWest Airlines — 88.8% of its 18,221 departures from GEG left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 69.8% over 724 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at GEG?
- 0.6% 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.