Also, during the time of 6 am – 11 am, fewer planes fly in the air, which means there wouldn't be much air traffic, and you would reach the expected time. Isn't it amazing? So many benefits to just being early.
Also, since early-morning flights aren't as popular, there are fewer of them. This means the national airspace isn't as congested as it usually is later in the day, minimizing the risk of air-traffic-related delays. In my case, traveling in the morning was the only way I could pull off a same-day trip.
If you book a 6AM domestic flight, for example, you'll need to arrive at the airport by 4AM. Depending on how far you live from the airport, this could mean getting on the road around 3AM or 3:30AM; traffic should be minimal at this time, as should check-in and security lines.
Early morning flights are the least crowded and best on-time stats. Not surprisingly, punishing crack-of-dawn itineraries tend to be less crowded times to fly.
“Roughly, you've got a 30% less chance of getting a long delay or cancellation if you go out in the morning,” said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and current spokesperson for the flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Early morning on-time performance is all thanks to the thin air traffic. As Forbes explained, airspace is less likely to be crowded in the morning, as all the previous days' flights have long landed. But as planes build up and wait for takeoff, air traffic controllers begin to delay departures and landings.
Red-eye flights depart late at night and arrive at their destination in the early morning hours. Usually, a flight that departs after 9 p.m. and arrives at 5 or 6 am shall be considered a red-eye flight.
The Best Time to Fly is in the Morning
Flights leaving before 7am have the least amount of delays. That's early, we get it. For a 6:30am departure, you would have to arrive at the airport by 5am and leave for the airport even earlier. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons…
The Best Time to Fly Crowd-Free
If you're looking to fly without experiencing huge crowds, you should be aiming for flights that leave anywhere between 7 and 8 in the morning.
The General Guideline for How Early You Should Get to the Airport. Generally speaking, most airlines advise that you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours prior to a domestic flight, and at least 3 hours prior to an international flight.
The first flight of the day is typically best for many reasons, including being less likely to be delayed. Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG's experts. Typically, your plane will be waiting for you at the airport since most domestic jets don't fly at night.
Airports are generally less busy as well, making it easier to get around. Reason #4 Lower Risk Of Delays – Early morning flights are known for being on time much more often because they aren't delayed by late flights coming in. That means more connections made on time.
According to the TSA, you should get to the airport two hours before your domestic flight. This leaves time for parking, shuttle transportation, check-in, and getting through security, the TSA says.
If I have a 5am flight, do I still need to arrive early? What time does the airport open? TSA and the airlines recommend that all travelers arrive at the airport at least two hours in advance of their flight departure time to ensure they have enough time to check in with their airline and go through security.
A ghost flight is when an airline operates a plane on a regularly scheduled route with little to no passengers - under 10% of capacity - onboard. This is most often done to make certain airlines can fulfill their contractual obligations so as not to lose one of their most precious assets - airport slots.
The Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route is the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world. Flights on the route are scheduled for one and a half minutes, and actual flying time is closer to one minute. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds.
While a non-stop, east-coast-to-west-coast flight was the original meaning of a red-eye flight, the term is now used to refer to any flight that leaves at night and arrives in the morning. While some flyers avoid red-eye flights at all costs, other flyers swear by them.
Everyone wants a mid-morning flight, but you're better off departing at the crack of dawn, especially if you have a connecting flight. “Statistically, every hour you wait, the chance of a delay gets worse,” says Bangs. Afternoon flights tend to be delayed much more often for two reasons.
Airlines need their planes in other places. Usually flights will leave early morning so they can arrive early enough at the hub they are flying to so it can move on to its next destination. This also allows passengers to get to their final destination earlier in the day.
When is the safest time to fly? Summertime is the safest season to fly. Earlier in the day is the safest time of day to fly. More accidents occur later in the day when the pilots are tired, especially when the weather is bad and there have been delays.
“Early morning flights are the best time to fly as they are the least likely to get delayed since the weather is usually calmer and the rest of the air traffic is quiet,” said Harrison Woods, CEO of YourParkingSpace.
Meanwhile, about 20% of flights were delayed (also a high not seen since 2014) and 4% were canceled completely. For context, 87% of flights arrived on time during the same period last year, and less than 2% of flights were canceled.