Best time to fly out of Missoula Montana (MSO)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Missoula Montana: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.8% of the time, against 75.4% 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 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 91 | 93 | 89 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 93 | 95 | 89 | 92 | 91 | 88 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 92 | – | – | 93 | 93 | – | 89 |
| 12–2pm | 79 | 83 | 79 | 80 | 76 | 81 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 72 | 80 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 71 | 79 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 79 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 91 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 88 | 85 | 89 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MSO was Before 6am — 91.8% of departures left on time across 1,526 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 75.4%. 6–8am departures from MSO left on time 91.1% of the time across 2,234 flights; 6–8pm departures, 88.3% across 1,094. That is a gap of 2.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MSO
July was the hard month at MSO: 77.7% of departures left on time, across 1,651 flights. November was the easy one at 91.7%. 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 | 81.1% | 890 |
| February | 85.8% | 774 |
| March | 82.3% | 922 |
| April | 86.5% | 923 |
| May | 83.7% | 1,119 |
| June | 79.8% | 1,586 |
| July | 77.7% | 1,651 |
| August | 80.9% | 1,489 |
| September | 87.1% | 1,110 |
| October | 88.3% | 964 |
| November | 91.7% | 832 |
| December | 82.4% | 912 |
Airlines at MSO
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MSO, 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 | 86.3% | 86 min | 0.8% | 4,096 |
| United Airlines | 83% | 94 min | 1% | 2,703 |
| Delta Air Lines | 89.7% | 118 min | 0.6% | 2,412 |
| Envoy Air | 79.2% | 79 min | 0.6% | 1,264 |
| Alaska Airlines | 77% | 55 min | 0.9% | 958 |
| Allegiant Air | 72.9% | 114 min | 0.9% | 918 |
| American Airlines | 74.9% | 111 min | 1% | 672 |
| Frontier Airlines | 76% | 76 min | 2% | 149 |
What delays out of MSO were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,415 flights that departed MSO and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.8% put down to airline operations and 31.8% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 31.8%
- Airline operations 37.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.8%
- Severe weather 9.4%
- 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 MSO
Of 13,176 scheduled arrivals into MSO, 80.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,443 arrivals that ran late, 57.2% 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 MSO
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.
- DEN 78.2% on time · 3,409 flights
- SLC 89.9% on time · 3,179 flights
- MSP 87.4% on time · 1,446 flights
- DFW 78.4% on time · 1,322 flights
- SEA 77.5% on time · 1,085 flights
- ORD 74% on time · 999 flights
- AZA 72.8% on time · 431 flights
- LAX 85.3% on time · 360 flights
- LAS 70.2% on time · 339 flights
- SFO 82.4% on time · 337 flights
MSO in one number
Missoula Montana (MSO)
Rank 149 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MSO
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Missoula Montana?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.8% of the time across 1,526 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 75.4%.
- Is the early flight out of MSO really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MSO left on time 91.1% of the time across 2,234 flights; 6–8pm departures, 88.3% across 1,094. That is a gap of 2.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MSO?
- July: 77.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,651 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 91.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MSO?
- Delta Air Lines — 89.7% of its 2,412 departures from MSO left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 72.9% over 918 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at MSO?
- 0.8% 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.