Best time to fly out of Manchester-Boston (MHT)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Manchester-Boston: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 95% of the time, against 71.1% 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 94 93 95 97 95 95 97
6–8am 93 93 96 96 92 95 95
8–10am 92 – – 94 – 92 –
10am–12pm 85 88 94 87 86 91 91
12–2pm 74 79 81 82 78 82 79
2–4pm 76 82 78 79 70 70 72
4–6pm 71 74 77 72 71 67 66
6–8pm 70 80 73 75 72 71 66
8–10pm – – – – – – –
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at MHT was Before 6am — 95% of departures left on time across 2,162 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 71.1%. 6–8am departures from MHT left on time 94% of the time across 3,322 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72% across 1,034. That is a gap of 22 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at MHT

July was the hard month at MHT: 73.2% of departures left on time, across 1,690 flights. November was the easy one at 90.5%. 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, 82.5%.
Departure on-time share at MHT by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 81.8% 1,140
February 79.9% 1,122
March 80.7% 1,302
April 84.9% 1,514
May 80.9% 1,629
June 80.4% 1,585
July 73.2% 1,690
August 81% 1,724
September 89.5% 1,630
October 84.8% 1,711
November 90.5% 1,368
December 82.1% 1,360

Airlines at MHT

Every airline with at least 100 departures from MHT, 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 83.8% 58 min 0.7% 8,220
PSA Airlines 80.3% 107 min 3.7% 6,533
Envoy Air 85.5% 65 min 1.1% 1,094
JetBlue Airways 80.4% 81 min 1.9% 896
Republic Airways 93.8% 88 min 3.1% 518
Spirit Airlines 77.2% 68 min 3.1% 326
American Airlines 72.5% 112 min 0% 171

Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) 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 MHT were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,196 flights that departed MHT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.3% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 43% Airline operations 28.3% Air traffic & airport volume 25.6% Severe weather 2.9% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 43%
  • Airline operations 28.3%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 25.6%
  • Severe weather 2.9%
  • Security 0.2%

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 MHT

Of 17,774 scheduled arrivals into MHT, 76% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,878 arrivals that ran late, 56.4% 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 MHT

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.

MHT in one number

Manchester-Boston (MHT)

Rank 130 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 17,425 departures flown

82.5% of departures left on time

Questions about MHT

What is the best time of day to fly out of Manchester-Boston?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 95% of the time across 2,162 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 71.1%.
Is the early flight out of MHT really more reliable?
6–8am departures from MHT left on time 94% of the time across 3,322 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72% across 1,034. That is a gap of 22 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of MHT?
July: 73.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,690 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 90.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at MHT?
Republic Airways — 93.8% of its 518 departures from MHT left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 72.5% over 171 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 MHT?
2% 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.