Best time to fly out of Oakland (OAK)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Oakland San Francisco Bay: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.4% of the time, against 60.7% in the 10pm–12am 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 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 95 |
| 6–8am | 93 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 95 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 89 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 87 | 86 | 83 | 80 | 84 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 77 | 84 | 84 | 77 | 72 | 80 | 76 |
| 2–4pm | 68 | 79 | 76 | 70 | 62 | 77 | 66 |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 80 | 76 | 66 | 62 | 75 | 64 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | 80 | 75 | 62 | 64 | 75 | 62 |
| 8–10pm | 66 | 77 | 73 | 54 | 59 | 70 | 59 |
| 10pm–12am | 73 | – | – | 61 | 66 | – | 49 |
The steadiest stretch at OAK was Before 6am — 94.4% of departures left on time across 6,246 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 60.7%. 6–8am departures from OAK left on time 94.3% of the time across 17,200 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.4% across 14,322. That is a gap of 24.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at OAK
June was the hard month at OAK: 72.6% of departures left on time, across 9,265 flights. November was the easy one at 84.3%. 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 | 84.2% | 8,814 |
| February | 81.9% | 8,210 |
| March | 80.8% | 9,177 |
| April | 80.5% | 9,071 |
| May | 79.1% | 9,509 |
| June | 72.6% | 9,265 |
| July | 74.8% | 10,825 |
| August | 78.7% | 10,452 |
| September | 80.5% | 9,900 |
| October | 80.3% | 10,011 |
| November | 84.3% | 9,558 |
| December | 77% | 9,787 |
Airlines at OAK
Every airline with at least 100 departures from OAK, 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 | 78.2% | 47 min | 0.6% | 98,260 |
| Spirit Airlines | 81.7% | 68 min | 1.4% | 5,408 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 90.5% | 63 min | 0.3% | 4,237 |
| Alaska Airlines | 86.3% | 56 min | 1.4% | 2,616 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 91.7% | 132 min | 3.2% | 2,504 |
| Delta Air Lines | 91.4% | 102 min | 0.8% | 1,011 |
| Allegiant Air | 83.5% | 137 min | 0.4% | 543 |
What delays out of OAK were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 20,237 flights that departed OAK and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 35.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 46.8%
- Airline operations 35.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 16.1%
- Severe weather 1.5%
- Security 0.3%
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 OAK
Of 114,529 scheduled arrivals into OAK, 80.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 21,408 arrivals that ran late, 63.4% 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 OAK
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 78.8% on time · 12,698 flights
- SAN 75.2% on time · 10,254 flights
- BUR 84.5% on time · 9,287 flights
- LAX 83.6% on time · 8,847 flights
- SNA 86.5% on time · 7,768 flights
- SEA 78.8% on time · 6,410 flights
- PHX 80.7% on time · 6,067 flights
- SLC 89% on time · 5,654 flights
- DEN 78.7% on time · 5,378 flights
- LGB 88% on time · 5,177 flights
OAK in one number
Oakland San Francisco Bay (OAK)
Rank 47 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about OAK
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Oakland San Francisco Bay?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.4% of the time across 6,246 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 60.7%.
- Is the early flight out of OAK really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from OAK left on time 94.3% of the time across 17,200 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.4% across 14,322. That is a gap of 24.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of OAK?
- June: 72.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 9,265 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 84.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at OAK?
- Hawaiian Airlines — 91.7% of its 2,504 departures from OAK left on time. Southwest Airlines sat at the other end at 78.2% over 98,260 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at OAK?
- 0.7% 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.