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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 76%.
Departure on-time share at LAS by calendar month
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

Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) and Hawaiian Airlines (through December 2025) stopped filing before June 2026. Their rows cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so their figures are not set against the others anywhere on this page.

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 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.

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.

July 2023–June 2026 · 550,510 departures flown

76% of departures left on time

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. 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 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.