Best time to fly out of Harry Reid (LAS)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Harry Reid: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92% of the time, against 63.8% in the 6–8pm 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 | 85 | 84 | 89 | 92 | 87 | 85 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 94 | 94 | 92 | 91 | 92 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 83 | 87 | 88 | 86 | 84 | 86 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 77 | 82 | 83 | 79 | 78 | 84 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 71 | 78 | 78 | 71 | 70 | 78 | 73 |
| 2–4pm | 65 | 73 | 73 | 64 | 62 | 75 | 65 |
| 4–6pm | 64 | 74 | 73 | 60 | 60 | 72 | 62 |
| 6–8pm | 63 | 74 | 73 | 57 | 57 | 70 | 57 |
| 8–10pm | 64 | 74 | 72 | 60 | 59 | 69 | 57 |
| 10pm–12am | 72 | 84 | 83 | 71 | 72 | 79 | 66 |
The steadiest stretch at LAS was 6–8am — 92% of departures left on time across 75,757 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 63.8%. 6–8am departures from LAS left on time 92% of the time across 75,757 flights; 6–8pm departures, 63.8% across 52,001. That is a gap of 28.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at LAS
July was the hard month at LAS: 66.7% of departures left on time, across 47,897 flights. November was the easy one at 81.9%. 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 | 79.8% | 43,644 |
| February | 79.5% | 41,134 |
| March | 76.1% | 47,674 |
| April | 77% | 46,285 |
| May | 73.7% | 47,650 |
| June | 69.4% | 45,185 |
| July | 66.7% | 47,897 |
| August | 74.8% | 46,948 |
| September | 77.4% | 46,181 |
| October | 77.7% | 50,295 |
| November | 81.9% | 46,410 |
| December | 79.1% | 46,000 |
Airlines at LAS
Every airline with at least 100 departures from LAS, 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 | 70.7% | 48 min | 0.6% | 260,926 |
| Spirit Airlines | 80.2% | 62 min | 1.1% | 58,276 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.4% | 75 min | 0.7% | 48,195 |
| United Airlines | 84% | 77 min | 1% | 43,900 |
| American Airlines | 79.8% | 98 min | 1.3% | 42,641 |
| Frontier Airlines | 76.2% | 74 min | 1.4% | 38,255 |
| Allegiant Air | 83.7% | 75 min | 0.4% | 22,318 |
| Alaska Airlines | 78.3% | 61 min | 1.3% | 17,296 |
| JetBlue Airways | 73% | 92 min | 1.5% | 10,131 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 80.2% | 76 min | 1% | 9,654 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 77.4% | 99 min | 0.4% | 3,675 |
What delays out of LAS were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 119,693 flights that departed LAS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34.2% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.8%
- Airline operations 34.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.2%
- Severe weather 2.8%
- Security 0.1%
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 LAS
Of 555,324 scheduled arrivals into LAS, 77.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 119,438 arrivals that ran late, 56% 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 LAS
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.
- LAX 77.7% on time · 27,573 flights
- DEN 77% on time · 23,805 flights
- PHX 79.2% on time · 19,991 flights
- SAN 69.3% on time · 19,821 flights
- SEA 80.1% on time · 18,723 flights
- SFO 67.2% on time · 17,713 flights
- DFW 78.3% on time · 17,279 flights
- ORD 79.7% on time · 15,960 flights
- SMF 79.2% on time · 15,315 flights
- ATL 82.8% on time · 14,961 flights
LAS in one number
Harry Reid (LAS)
Rank 8 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about LAS
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Harry Reid?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92% of the time across 75,757 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 63.8%.
- Is the early flight out of LAS really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from LAS left on time 92% of the time across 75,757 flights; 6–8pm departures, 63.8% across 52,001. That is a gap of 28.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of LAS?
- July: 66.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 47,897 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 81.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at LAS?
- Delta Air Lines — 84.4% of its 48,195 departures from LAS left on time. Southwest Airlines sat at the other end at 70.7% over 260,926 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at LAS?
- 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.