Best time to fly out of Daniel K. Inouye (HNL)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Daniel K. Inouye: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 96.4% of the time, against 78.1% in the 2–4pm 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 96 95 98 97 95 – –
6–8am 94 94 94 95 94 95 94
8–10am 95 94 94 94 92 93 94
10am–12pm 89 90 89 87 87 89 91
12–2pm 83 83 83 81 77 80 82
2–4pm 77 82 81 78 75 77 78
4–6pm 82 87 89 84 80 85 84
6–8pm 86 89 90 86 82 89 86
8–10pm 86 88 90 87 83 86 86
10pm–12am 82 84 85 83 82 82 81
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at HNL was Before 6am — 96.4% of departures left on time across 2,486 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 78.1%. 6–8am departures from HNL left on time 94.1% of the time across 18,321 flights; 6–8pm departures, 86.6% across 15,210. That is a gap of 7.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at HNL

January was the hard month at HNL: 82.1% of departures left on time, across 15,387 flights. September was the easy one at 90.7%. 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, 85.9%.
Departure on-time share at HNL by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 82.1% 15,387
February 84.4% 13,879
March 84.8% 15,685
April 85.6% 14,764
May 86.1% 15,116
June 86.3% 15,086
July 84.1% 16,094
August 87% 15,568
September 90.7% 14,343
October 86.6% 14,936
November 89.1% 14,683
December 84% 15,647

Airlines at HNL

Every airline with at least 100 departures from HNL, 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
Hawaiian Airlines 86% 46 min 0.9% 80,764
Southwest Airlines 90.8% 44 min 0.5% 40,948
Alaska Airlines 77.4% 51 min 1.6% 26,085
United Airlines 84.1% 75 min 0.9% 15,069
Delta Air Lines 87.3% 90 min 0.9% 11,180
American Airlines 88.2% 127 min 0.4% 7,142

Hawaiian Airlines (through December 2025) 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 HNL were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 26,242 flights that departed HNL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 54.5% put down to airline operations and 35.6% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 35.6% Airline operations 54.5% Air traffic & airport volume 7.1% Severe weather 2.3% Security 0.5%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 35.6%
  • Airline operations 54.5%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 7.1%
  • Severe weather 2.3%
  • Security 0.5%

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 HNL

Of 181,244 scheduled arrivals into HNL, 82.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 30,109 arrivals that ran late, 68.6% 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 HNL

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.

HNL in one number

Daniel K. Inouye (HNL)

Rank 33 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: January.

July 2023–June 2026 · 179,554 departures flown

85.9% of departures left on time

Questions about HNL

What is the best time of day to fly out of Daniel K. Inouye?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 96.4% of the time across 2,486 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 78.1%.
Is the early flight out of HNL really more reliable?
6–8am departures from HNL left on time 94.1% of the time across 18,321 flights; 6–8pm departures, 86.6% across 15,210. That is a gap of 7.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of HNL?
January: 82.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 15,387 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 90.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at HNL?
Southwest Airlines — 90.8% of its 40,948 departures from HNL left on time. Alaska Airlines sat at the other end at 77.4% over 26,085 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 HNL?
0.9% 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.