Airline reliability
American Airlines on-time performance
Reliability of American Airlines flights across 136 airports and 986 routes, September 2025 to August 2026.
136 airports986 routes
- On time
- 72.9% Rank 10 of 14 airlines
- Cancelled
- 2.1% All airlines 1.9%
- 60+ minutes late
- 9.9% All airlines 8.1%
- Scheduled flights
- 988,892 12 months
What this means
American Airlines ranked 10 of 14 on on-time arrival.
- American Airlines reported 988,892 scheduled flights over the 12 months to August 2026. 72.9% arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, 2.7 points lower than the average for all reporting airlines (75.6%).
- 2.1% of its flights were cancelled (all-airline average 1.9%) and 9.9% arrived an hour or more late.
- Its most punctual busy route was Kona (KOA) to Phoenix (PHX) (91.9% on time); its least punctual was Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Bakersfield (BFL) (52.4%).
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month for American Airlines (80.7% on time) and July the least reliable (62.6%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 4.8% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (88.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 8 pm to 9 pm were the least (60.7%).
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time All airlines 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 77.8% | 77,306 |
| Oct 2025 | 76.1% | 85,483 |
| Nov 2025 | 74.8% | 78,826 |
| Dec 2025 | 73.1% | 79,859 |
| Jan 2026 | 69.1% | 76,772 |
| Feb 2026 | 77.0% | 72,786 |
| Mar 2026 | 72.8% | 84,647 |
| Apr 2026 | 76.8% | 84,538 |
| May 2026 | 75.1% | 88,740 |
| Jun 2026 | 67.7% | 86,464 |
| Jul 2026 | 65.0% | 89,200 |
| Aug 2026 | 70.3% | 84,271 |
Best and worst months for American Airlines
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 72.9%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71.9% | 229,206 |
| February | 78.8% | 217,532 |
| March | 73.4% | 249,442 |
| April | 75.3% | 248,015 |
| May | 69.3% | 261,628 |
| June | 66.3% | 257,464 |
| July | 62.6% | 265,343 |
| August | 68.3% | 253,258 |
| September | 78.8% | 234,987 |
| October | 80.7% | 253,639 |
| November | 80.7% | 231,990 |
| December | 77.1% | 233,004 |
On-time rate by departure hour
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 88.1% | 31,238 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 86.9% | 72,598 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 84.7% | 81,206 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 82.0% | 76,090 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 79.2% | 49,505 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 77.7% | 59,581 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 75.7% | 58,798 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 72.8% | 55,321 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 70.6% | 57,022 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 68.1% | 52,428 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 65.6% | 55,874 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 64.6% | 50,208 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 63.2% | 59,956 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 61.7% | 56,450 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 61.7% | 56,076 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 60.7% | 40,694 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 65.2% | 34,586 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 67.2% | 29,862 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | 77.1% | 11,399 |
Most punctual American Airlines routes
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kona (KOA) to Phoenix (PHX) | 91.9% | 1.3% | 1.8% | 384 |
| Lihue (LIH) to Phoenix (PHX) | 91.1% | 0.5% | 3.1% | 384 |
| Birmingham (BHM) to Charlotte (CLT) | 90.0% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 359 |
| Portland (PDX) to Charlotte (CLT) | 89.8% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 440 |
| Minneapolis (MSP) to Miami (MIA) | 89.7% | 1.1% | 3.9% | 380 |
| Kahului (OGG) to Phoenix (PHX) | 89.7% | 0.6% | 2.4% | 495 |
| Kansas City (MCI) to Miami (MIA) | 88.9% | 2.0% | 4.1% | 460 |
| Hartford (BDL) to Miami (MIA) | 88.9% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 396 |
| St. Louis (STL) to Miami (MIA) | 88.8% | 0.9% | 4.4% | 633 |
| Santa Ana (SNA) to Charlotte (CLT) | 88.7% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 364 |
Least punctual American Airlines routes
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Bakersfield (BFL) | 52.4% | 3.5% | 23.2% | 311 |
| Chicago (ORD) to Pittsburgh (PIT) | 52.4% | 3.1% | 22.2% | 616 |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to New York (LGA) | 52.9% | 3.9% | 20.5% | 595 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Syracuse (SYR) | 54.1% | 3.1% | 15.3% | 327 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Harrisburg (MDT) | 54.2% | 3.0% | 18.4% | 365 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Des Moines (DSM) | 54.6% | 4.0% | 18.7% | 971 |
| Chicago (ORD) to Raleigh/Durham (RDU) | 54.6% | 3.3% | 23.5% | 520 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Sioux Falls (FSD) | 54.7% | 3.1% | 19.8% | 671 |
| Key West (EYW) to Philadelphia (PHL) | 54.8% | 3.4% | 24.0% | 321 |
| West Palm Beach/Palm Beach (DJT) to New York (LGA) | 55.3% | 4.2% | 18.5% | 405 |
Routes with the most American Airlines cancellations
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis (IND) to Chicago (ORD) | 62.8% | 6.0% | 15.8% | 564 |
| Chicago (ORD) to Indianapolis (IND) | 65.0% | 5.7% | 12.6% | 565 |
| Chicago (ORD) to New York (JFK) | 57.1% | 5.2% | 17.2% | 541 |
| New York (JFK) to Chicago (ORD) | 68.6% | 5.2% | 12.0% | 542 |
| Chicago (ORD) to Newark (EWR) | 55.8% | 5.0% | 20.7% | 926 |
| New York (LGA) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 67.0% | 4.9% | 12.0% | 4,309 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to New York (LGA) | 60.2% | 4.8% | 13.0% | 4,311 |
| New York (LGA) to Chicago (ORD) | 65.6% | 4.8% | 12.7% | 2,989 |
| Newark (EWR) to Chicago (ORD) | 72.8% | 4.8% | 12.9% | 924 |
| Chicago (ORD) to New York (LGA) | 62.0% | 4.6% | 14.8% | 2,990 |
Busiest American Airlines routes
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Phoenix (PHX) | 70.6% | 2.4% | 9.8% | 4,612 |
| Phoenix (PHX) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 78.7% | 2.5% | 6.0% | 4,607 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX) | 68.7% | 2.2% | 9.6% | 4,536 |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 71.6% | 2.2% | 9.0% | 4,528 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to New York (LGA) | 60.2% | 4.8% | 13.0% | 4,311 |
| New York (LGA) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 67.0% | 4.9% | 12.0% | 4,309 |
| Miami (MIA) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 73.1% | 2.3% | 9.4% | 4,305 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Miami (MIA) | 66.9% | 2.4% | 11.0% | 4,302 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Chicago (ORD) | 64.9% | 3.1% | 12.0% | 4,301 |
| Chicago (ORD) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 66.1% | 3.2% | 12.9% | 4,297 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Scheduled nonstop domestic flights operated by American Airlines (AA).
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.