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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
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.
| 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 |
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 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.
- BWI 88% on time · 4,872 flights
- DCA 75.6% on time · 3,544 flights
- CLT 80.1% on time · 2,984 flights
- MCO 77.5% on time · 2,359 flights
- MDW 85.7% on time · 1,532 flights
- ORD 80.5% on time · 1,150 flights
- EWR 88.6% on time · 401 flights
- TPA 69.8% on time · 279 flights
- PHL 88.5% on time · 254 flights
- FLL 67.3% on time · 170 flights
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.
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.
- 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.