Best time to fly out of Capital Region (LAN)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Capital Region: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 94% of the time, against 69.1% in the 4–6pm 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 86 89 91 91 83 94
6–8am 94
8–10am
10am–12pm
12–2pm 73 80 80 77 69 75
2–4pm
4–6pm 69 66 67 67 74 71
6–8pm 72 71 69 69 71 65
8–10pm
10pm–12am
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at LAN was 6–8am — 94% of departures left on time across 117 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 69.1%. 6–8am departures from LAN left on time 94% of the time across 117 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.7% across 839. That is a gap of 24.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at LAN

January was the hard month at LAN: 71% of departures left on time, across 374 flights. October was the easy one at 86.5%. 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, 79.1%.
Departure on-time share at LAN by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 71% 374
February 76.2% 360
March 74% 428
April 79% 471
May 78.7% 449
June 77.6% 449
July 77.7% 404
August 80.7% 405
September 86.4% 383
October 86.5% 406
November 84.3% 340
December 77.4% 330

Airlines at LAN

Every airline with at least 100 departures from LAN, 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 79.8% 112 min 0.6% 2,402
Envoy Air 82% 101 min 2.3% 1,093
PSA Airlines 69% 100 min 7.2% 895
Endeavor Air 88.3% 90 min 1.7% 409

What delays out of LAN were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,063 flights that departed LAN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 50.6% put down to airline operations and 24.7% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 24.7% Airline operations 50.6% Air traffic & airport volume 11.6% Severe weather 13.1% Security 0%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 24.7%
  • Airline operations 50.6%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 11.6%
  • Severe weather 13.1%
  • Security 0%

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 LAN

Of 4,800 scheduled arrivals into LAN, 73.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,176 arrivals that ran late, 44.6% 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 LAN

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.

LAN in one number

Capital Region (LAN)

Rank 212 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.

July 2023–June 2026 · 4,689 departures flown

79.1% of departures left on time

Questions about LAN

What is the best time of day to fly out of Capital Region?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 94% of the time across 117 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 69.1%.
Is the early flight out of LAN really more reliable?
6–8am departures from LAN left on time 94% of the time across 117 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.7% across 839. That is a gap of 24.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of LAN?
January: 71% of the departures that flew left on time, with 374 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at LAN?
Endeavor Air — 88.3% of its 409 departures from LAN left on time. PSA Airlines sat at the other end at 69% over 895 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at LAN?
2.3% 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.