Best time to fly out of William P. Hobby (HOU)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at William P. Hobby: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.6% of the time, against 58.7% 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 | 95 | 96 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 93 | 93 | 94 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 91 | 89 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 90 |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 86 | 82 | 82 | 84 | 82 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 82 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 75 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | 69 | 74 | 73 | 64 | 65 | 71 | 66 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 73 | 74 | 65 | 64 | 72 | 62 |
| 6–8pm | 66 | 69 | 66 | 63 | 65 | 71 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | 65 | 72 | 71 | 59 | 62 | 63 | 57 |
| 10pm–12am | 59 | 65 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 55 | 54 |
The steadiest stretch at HOU was Before 6am — 94.6% of departures left on time across 6,149 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 58.7%. 6–8am departures from HOU left on time 93.2% of the time across 15,937 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.2% across 19,310. That is a gap of 27 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at HOU
June was the hard month at HOU: 64.5% of departures left on time, across 14,521 flights. September was the easy one at 83.9%. 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 | 80.6% | 12,808 |
| February | 83.6% | 11,914 |
| March | 73.8% | 14,207 |
| April | 75.9% | 13,899 |
| May | 67.1% | 14,285 |
| June | 64.5% | 14,521 |
| July | 65.6% | 15,161 |
| August | 79.6% | 14,059 |
| September | 83.9% | 13,363 |
| October | 79.7% | 14,931 |
| November | 82.4% | 13,960 |
| December | 78.1% | 14,343 |
Airlines at HOU
Every airline with at least 100 departures from HOU, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 75.7% | 51 min | 0.9% | 154,825 |
| Delta Air Lines | 83.5% | 103 min | 1.5% | 4,509 |
| Envoy Air | 80.7% | 72 min | 3.2% | 4,285 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 75.7% | 100 min | 3.9% | 1,453 |
| Allegiant Air | 72.7% | 94 min | 0.8% | 929 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.7% | 114 min | 6.5% | 858 |
| Frontier Airlines | 69.6% | 93 min | 3.7% | 592 |
What delays out of HOU were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 34,527 flights that departed HOU and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.5% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.5% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 46.5%
- Airline operations 30.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 17.2%
- Severe weather 5.4%
- Security 0.4%
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 HOU
Of 167,434 scheduled arrivals into HOU, 78.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 34,214 arrivals that ran late, 62% 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 HOU
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.
- DAL 81.5% on time · 12,341 flights
- ATL 81.9% on time · 9,379 flights
- DEN 79.6% on time · 7,624 flights
- MSY 83.2% on time · 6,856 flights
- DFW 77.7% on time · 6,596 flights
- PHX 79.1% on time · 6,319 flights
- LAS 80.2% on time · 6,113 flights
- MCO 79% on time · 6,059 flights
- MDW 78.2% on time · 5,378 flights
- BNA 81.3% on time · 5,297 flights
HOU in one number
William P. Hobby (HOU)
Rank 35 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about HOU
- What is the best time of day to fly out of William P. Hobby?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.6% of the time across 6,149 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 58.7%.
- Is the early flight out of HOU really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from HOU left on time 93.2% of the time across 15,937 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.2% across 19,310. That is a gap of 27 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of HOU?
- June: 64.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 14,521 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 83.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at HOU?
- Delta Air Lines — 83.5% of its 4,509 departures from HOU left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 69.6% over 592 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at HOU?
- 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.