Traveling on a tight schedule and need to make sure your flight takes off on time? You might want to opt for an early morning trip — especially if you’re flying out of Chicago’s Midway Airport.
About 9 out of 10 flights departing major U.S. airports between 6 and 8 a.m. took off on time, on average, across the 12 months ending February 2018, according to U.S. Transportation Department data. But over the course of the day, punctuality slips — between 6 and 8 p.m., only about 72 percent of flights took off on time.
In Chicago, which airport you pick matters too. At the start of the day, odds of leaving on time are slightly better at Midway than at O’Hare International Airport.
However, while on-time departures at O’Hare roughly tracked average rates across major U.S. airports through the rest of the day, the odds of leaving on time at Midway slipped considerably more later in the day. Over the 12-month period ending in February, for example, 58.9 percent of flights scheduled to depart Midway between 8 and 9 p.m. left on time, on average, compared with about 71.5 percent at O’Hare.
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On-time departure averages
By time of day, from March 2017
through February 2018
O’Hare
Midway
Average of all 30 airports
included in the study
100
O’Hare, 8 p.m.:
90
71.5%
on time
80
70
60
Midway, 8 p.m.:
50
58.9% on time
6 a.m.
Noon
6 p.m.
11 p.m.
SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Transportation
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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On-time departure averages
By time of day, from March 2017 through February 2018
O’Hare
Midway
Average of all 30 airports
included in the study
100
O’Hare, 8 p.m.:
90
71.5%
on time
80
70
60
Midway, 8 p.m.:
50
58.9% on time
6 a.m.
9 a.m.
Noon
3 p.m.
6 p.m.
9 p.m.
11
p.m.
SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Transportation
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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On-time departure averages
By time of day, from March 2017 through February 2018
Average of all 30 airports
included in the study
O’Hare
Midway
100
O’Hare, 8 p.m.:
90
71.5% on time
80
70
60
Midway, 8 p.m.:
50
58.9% on time
6 a.m.
9 a.m.
Noon
3 p.m.
6 p.m.
9 p.m.
11
p.m.
SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Transportation
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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There’s a reason morning flights tend to stick to their schedules. About 92 percent of Southwest flights leaving Midway between 6 and 7 a.m. use aircraft that spent the night at the airport, meaning they’re in place and ready to go, the Dallas-based airline said in an email.
But later flights depend on aircraft arriving from other cities. By 8 p.m., a plane might be on its third or fourth flight of the day, meaning delays can accumulate, especially during winter and summer storm seasons, said Southwest, which averages 220 flights to more than 60 destinations from Midway each day.
At all airports, the odds of leaving on time shot back up late in the evening, after the “afternoon rush,” when airlines tend to schedule fewer flights, said Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group.
Why would Midway struggle more than O’Hare in the evening hours? Differences in the way airlines serving each airport schedule flights are likely at least part of the answer, industry experts said. United Airlines and American Airlines are the biggest carriers at O’Hare; Southwest takes the top spot at Midway.
All airlines try to minimize the amount of time planes spend idle on the ground, but Southwest tends to fly its planes harder than some carriers, with short turnarounds between flights, said Robert Mann, a New York-based airline industry consultant. That’s more efficient, but gives the airline less cushion when problems arise.
Also, Southwest tends to set routes that stop in multiple cities, rather than flying from a hub city to a single destination and back, Harteveldt said. That can make it more challenging to keep cancellations or delays in one city from affecting others.
Leisure travelers with flexible schedules might be willing to accept greater risk of delay, but for business travelers and passengers with connecting flights, the early morning wake-up call could be worthwhile.
“At their core, airlines are time management machines,” Harteveldt said. He said passengers are “not just buying the seat; we’re buying the schedule, and the promise of departing and arriving on time.”
Twitter @laurenzumbach
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Best and worst times to fly
The best and worst times to fly based on percentage of flights landing on-time between March 2017 to February 2018.
Best month
March 2017 to February 2018 averages
O’Hare
November
87.6% on time
Midway
April
82.7% on time
National
November
87.6% on time
Worst month
March 2017 to February 2018 averages
O’Hare
July
70.4% on time
Midway
February
66.6% on time
National
June
74.8% on time
Best time
March 2017 to February 2018 averages,
for the hour following the times
labeled below
O’Hare
11 p.m.
89.4% on time
Midway
6 a.m.
93.1% on time
National
6 a.m.
92.3% on time
Worst time
March 2017 to February 2018 averages
O’Hare
6 p.m.
71.5% on time
Midway
8 p.m.
58.9% on time
National
6 p.m.
71.5% on time
SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Transportation
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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