Best time to fly out of Reno Tahoe (RNO)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Reno Tahoe: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.7% of the time, against 70.5% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 96 95 96 96 93 95 92
6–8am 93 93 95 94 92 92 91
8–10am 88 89 91 87 88 90 87
10am–12pm 82 86 86 82 81 85 84
12–2pm 80 84 84 82 79 81 76
2–4pm 69 79 75 71 69 75 66
4–6pm 75 83 82 71 73 82 71
6–8pm 71 82 78 66 68 80 69
8–10pm 74 83 84 71 74 84 62
10pm–12am 74 75 69 68 75 65 69
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at RNO was Before 6am — 94.7% of departures left on time across 3,955 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 70.5%. 6–8am departures from RNO left on time 93% of the time across 12,297 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.6% across 5,930. That is a gap of 20.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at RNO

July was the hard month at RNO: 77% of departures left on time, across 5,748 flights. November was the easy one at 87.6%. 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, 82.5%.
Departure on-time share at RNO by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 84.9% 4,882
February 81.6% 4,629
March 81.7% 5,325
April 83.6% 4,963
May 82.6% 5,200
June 78.4% 5,646
July 77% 5,748
August 81.3% 5,759
September 84.6% 5,177
October 85.1% 5,201
November 87.6% 4,919
December 82.9% 5,108

Airlines at RNO

Every airline with at least 100 departures from RNO, 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 81.2% 55 min 0.7% 25,673
SkyWest Airlines 86.3% 80 min 0.8% 12,728
American Airlines 82.5% 113 min 1.5% 7,179
United Airlines 83% 80 min 0.8% 7,142
Delta Air Lines 81.8% 84 min 0.7% 3,074
Spirit Airlines 83.3% 67 min 1.7% 2,441
Alaska Airlines 82% 56 min 1.1% 2,272
Envoy Air 82.9% 66 min 0.4% 770
JetBlue Airways 64.5% 159 min 2.8% 753
Frontier Airlines 75.3% 101 min 1.7% 469

Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) stopped filing before June 2026. Its row covers a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so its figure is not set against the others anywhere on this page.

What delays out of RNO were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 11,041 flights that departed RNO and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.1% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 41.6% Airline operations 31.1% Air traffic & airport volume 22.3% Severe weather 4.8% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 41.6%
  • Airline operations 31.1%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 22.3%
  • Severe weather 4.8%
  • 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 RNO

Of 62,560 scheduled arrivals into RNO, 78.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,506 arrivals that ran late, 58.8% 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 RNO

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.

RNO in one number

Reno Tahoe (RNO)

Rank 66 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 61,978 departures flown

82.5% of departures left on time

Questions about RNO

What is the best time of day to fly out of Reno Tahoe?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.7% of the time across 3,955 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 70.5%.
Is the early flight out of RNO really more reliable?
6–8am departures from RNO left on time 93% of the time across 12,297 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.6% across 5,930. That is a gap of 20.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of RNO?
July: 77% of the departures that flew left on time, with 5,748 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 87.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at RNO?
SkyWest Airlines — 86.3% of its 12,728 departures from RNO left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 64.5% over 753 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
How often are flights cancelled at RNO?
0.9% 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.