Best time to fly out of Savannah Hilton Head (SAV)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Savannah Hilton Head: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.5% of the time, against 66.4% 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 | 86 | 94 | 91 | 95 | 88 | 90 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 91 | 90 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 91 | 90 | 92 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 85 | 88 | 85 | 82 | 80 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 77 | 84 | 85 | 80 | 78 | 77 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | 73 | 82 | 82 | 74 | 74 | 69 | 70 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 80 | 80 | 73 | 72 | 65 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 67 | 71 | 74 | 64 | 67 | 62 | 61 |
| 8–10pm | 72 | 76 | 76 | 71 | 71 | 67 | 60 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SAV was 6–8am — 91.5% of departures left on time across 11,002 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 66.4%. 6–8am departures from SAV left on time 91.5% of the time across 11,002 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.4% across 6,650. That is a gap of 25.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SAV
July was the hard month at SAV: 67.7% of departures left on time, across 5,112 flights. October was the easy one at 85.4%. 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 | 82.8% | 3,947 |
| February | 85.3% | 3,785 |
| March | 80.9% | 4,885 |
| April | 81.4% | 5,159 |
| May | 76.4% | 5,368 |
| June | 75.6% | 5,083 |
| July | 67.7% | 5,112 |
| August | 79.4% | 4,740 |
| September | 82.9% | 4,451 |
| October | 85.4% | 4,984 |
| November | 84.7% | 4,636 |
| December | 79.9% | 4,491 |
Airlines at SAV
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SAV, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 83.5% | 69 min | 1.4% | 10,099 |
| PSA Airlines | 82.8% | 98 min | 2.9% | 9,823 |
| Southwest Airlines | 75.2% | 51 min | 0.9% | 8,399 |
| American Airlines | 75.8% | 107 min | 2.2% | 5,795 |
| Republic Airways | 83% | 78 min | 2.7% | 4,645 |
| United Airlines | 80.7% | 94 min | 1.5% | 4,276 |
| Envoy Air | 84.8% | 72 min | 1.6% | 3,150 |
| JetBlue Airways | 69.3% | 80 min | 2.6% | 3,142 |
| Endeavor Air | 82.1% | 83 min | 3.5% | 2,812 |
| Allegiant Air | 79.7% | 104 min | 0.7% | 2,657 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 80.6% | 96 min | 1.6% | 1,344 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74.1% | 97 min | 2.4% | 289 |
| Spirit Airlines | 61.3% | 94 min | 5.2% | 210 |
Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) and Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Their rows cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so their figures are not set against the others anywhere on this page.
What delays out of SAV were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 10,568 flights that departed SAV and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 41.3%
- Airline operations 31.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.1%
- Severe weather 7.5%
- 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 SAV
Of 56,641 scheduled arrivals into SAV, 76.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,279 arrivals that ran late, 52.7% 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 SAV
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 86.6% on time · 8,560 flights
- CLT 83.9% on time · 7,659 flights
- ORD 80.5% on time · 3,637 flights
- JFK 79.4% on time · 3,388 flights
- DFW 75% on time · 3,107 flights
- EWR 81.5% on time · 3,004 flights
- DCA 78.5% on time · 2,891 flights
- BWI 80.9% on time · 2,836 flights
- PHL 80.6% on time · 2,829 flights
- LGA 83% on time · 2,499 flights
SAV in one number
Savannah Hilton Head (SAV)
Rank 69 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about SAV
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Savannah Hilton Head?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.5% of the time across 11,002 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 66.4%.
- Is the early flight out of SAV really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SAV left on time 91.5% of the time across 11,002 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.4% across 6,650. That is a gap of 25.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SAV?
- July: 67.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 5,112 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 85.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SAV?
- Envoy Air — 84.8% of its 3,150 departures from SAV left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 69.3% over 3,142 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 SAV?
- 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.