Best time to fly out of Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Phoenix Sky Harbor: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92.7% of the time, against 68.9% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 92 93 93 94 91 90 92
6–8am 92 94 94 93 92 92 92
8–10am 86 88 89 87 86 87 87
10am–12pm 81 84 85 82 81 84 82
12–2pm 77 82 82 78 77 80 77
2–4pm 72 79 78 72 71 76 71
4–6pm 71 78 76 70 69 75 67
6–8pm 67 76 74 65 66 72 64
8–10pm 72 77 76 69 69 74 67
10pm–12am 78 85 82 75 75 80 71
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at PHX was 6–8am — 92.7% of departures left on time across 57,859 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 68.9%. 6–8am departures from PHX left on time 92.7% of the time across 57,859 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.9% across 58,657. That is a gap of 23.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at PHX

June was the hard month at PHX: 72.9% of departures left on time, across 46,603 flights. September was the easy one at 83.1%. 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, 79.3%.
Departure on-time share at PHX by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 81.9% 47,898
February 82.9% 45,937
March 78.5% 55,914
April 79.9% 52,398
May 76.2% 51,301
June 72.9% 46,603
July 73% 45,499
August 79.3% 44,100
September 83.1% 43,138
October 80.6% 49,101
November 82.3% 49,506
December 80.4% 51,027

Airlines at PHX

Every airline with at least 100 departures from PHX, 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 73.2% 47 min 0.6% 200,703
American Airlines 80.2% 76 min 0.7% 166,201
SkyWest Airlines 84.7% 74 min 0.4% 78,954
Delta Air Lines 86.3% 80 min 0.7% 31,682
United Airlines 85% 79 min 1% 30,333
Frontier Airlines 79% 80 min 1.1% 25,628
Envoy Air 87% 54 min 0.4% 25,593
Alaska Airlines 84.7% 53 min 1% 15,601
JetBlue Airways 67.7% 94 min 1.5% 3,140
Spirit Airlines 74.4% 75 min 1.8% 2,495
Allegiant Air 74.6% 94 min 0.8% 1,177
Hawaiian Airlines 89.2% 116 min 0.1% 915

What delays out of PHX were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 111,956 flights that departed PHX and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 37.8% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 44.6% Airline operations 37.8% Air traffic & airport volume 15% Severe weather 2.4% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 44.6%
  • Airline operations 37.8%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 15%
  • Severe weather 2.4%
  • 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 PHX

Of 582,407 scheduled arrivals into PHX, 80.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 110,116 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 PHX

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.

PHX in one number

Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)

Rank 6 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 578,571 departures flown

79.3% of departures left on time

Questions about PHX

What is the best time of day to fly out of Phoenix Sky Harbor?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92.7% of the time across 57,859 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 68.9%.
Is the early flight out of PHX really more reliable?
6–8am departures from PHX left on time 92.7% of the time across 57,859 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.9% across 58,657. That is a gap of 23.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of PHX?
June: 72.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 46,603 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 83.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at PHX?
Hawaiian Airlines — 89.2% of its 915 departures from PHX left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 67.7% over 3,140 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at PHX?
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.