Best time to fly out of West Palm Beach (PBI)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at President Donald J. Trump: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 94.3% of the time, against 61.4% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 93 | 94 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 94 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 90 | 91 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 84 | 83 | 80 | 80 | 81 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 73 | 78 | 78 | 70 | 68 | 73 | 70 |
| 2–4pm | 65 | 74 | 72 | 65 | 65 | 71 | 60 |
| 4–6pm | 65 | 75 | 71 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 58 |
| 6–8pm | 61 | 69 | 65 | 56 | 62 | 68 | 53 |
| 8–10pm | 60 | 73 | 70 | 60 | 64 | 67 | 52 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at PBI was 6–8am — 94.3% of departures left on time across 14,210 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 61.4%. 6–8am departures from PBI left on time 94.3% of the time across 14,210 flights; 6–8pm departures, 61.4% across 13,805. That is a gap of 32.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at PBI
July was the hard month at PBI: 69.1% of departures left on time, across 5,948 flights. October was the easy one at 83.2%. 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 | 73.4% | 8,962 |
| February | 75.8% | 8,643 |
| March | 71.5% | 9,962 |
| April | 77.6% | 8,839 |
| May | 75.6% | 7,367 |
| June | 73.8% | 6,185 |
| July | 69.1% | 5,948 |
| August | 73.7% | 5,722 |
| September | 81.1% | 5,248 |
| October | 83.2% | 6,396 |
| November | 81.1% | 7,698 |
| December | 71.9% | 8,962 |
Airlines at PBI
Every airline with at least 100 departures from PBI, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue Airways | 73% | 78 min | 2% | 25,784 |
| Delta Air Lines | 77.8% | 76 min | 1.7% | 21,433 |
| American Airlines | 75.8% | 99 min | 1.9% | 18,273 |
| United Airlines | 76.6% | 95 min | 2.2% | 11,238 |
| Southwest Airlines | 78.3% | 62 min | 0.7% | 7,880 |
| Frontier Airlines | 63.2% | 93 min | 2.5% | 2,276 |
| Spirit Airlines | 78.8% | 71 min | 3.5% | 1,353 |
| Allegiant Air | 70.4% | 75 min | 0.9% | 1,224 |
| Republic Airways | 76.6% | 84 min | 3.3% | 424 |
What delays out of PBI were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 20,984 flights that departed PBI and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 48.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 26.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 48.4%
- Airline operations 26.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 21.5%
- Severe weather 3.1%
- 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 PBI
Of 89,936 scheduled arrivals into PBI, 72.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 22,834 arrivals that ran late, 50.3% 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 PBI
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.
- ATL 83.5% on time · 11,988 flights
- EWR 74.4% on time · 10,315 flights
- LGA 74% on time · 9,089 flights
- JFK 72.9% on time · 6,415 flights
- BOS 70.8% on time · 6,222 flights
- CLT 80.9% on time · 5,868 flights
- HPN 76.2% on time · 5,246 flights
- DCA 73.2% on time · 5,111 flights
- PHL 74.1% on time · 4,824 flights
- BWI 81.9% on time · 3,942 flights
PBI in one number
President Donald J. Trump (PBI)
Rank 52 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about PBI
- What is the best time of day to fly out of President Donald J. Trump?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 94.3% of the time across 14,210 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 61.4%.
- Is the early flight out of PBI really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from PBI left on time 94.3% of the time across 14,210 flights; 6–8pm departures, 61.4% across 13,805. That is a gap of 32.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of PBI?
- July: 69.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 5,948 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 83.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at PBI?
- Spirit Airlines — 78.8% of its 1,353 departures from PBI left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 63.2% over 2,276 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at PBI?
- 1.9% 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.