When traveling we have found that the early morning flights give you the best odds of taking off and arriving on time. As the day goes on the odds start stacking up against you.
For example, when we checked United Airlines eight nonstop flights between Chicago O'Hare to Newark we found the first flight of the day had a better than 90% chance of taking off and arriving on time. The next seven flights all head south with the 4:10 p.m. flight having a 36% chance to get you to Newark on time. That means 64% of the time your leaving late or arriving late, probably both.
Now the return trip was even worse from Newark back to Chicago. The early morning flight at 6:00 a.m. had only a 76% on time performance. Again, 24% of the time this plane is leaving or landing late. Most of the evening flights have a 50/50 change of leaving on time. See the chart below.
So the next time you pick a cheap flight on Bestfares.com be sure to check your average on time performance to stack the odds in your favor. Remember no matter how you increase your odds Murphy's law can set in.
Please note that if there isn't any flight information listed for a particular flight this may be due to a new flight route, a new flight number, or that this is route has not been flown for more than a year so there is not enough data to get an average on time report. The airlines are required to report their on time performances after flying the route over 12 months so they have an accurate on time average.
On our website you will see the airline in the first column, the departure time in the next, arrival time in the next, total travel time in the next, and the last column will show the roundtrip price including all taxes. It is the fourth column you want to pay attention to, it will show total travel time and if the flight is nonstop or connecting, and the flight # and the average on time percentage.
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| Airline | Departure Time | Arrival Time | Total Travel Time | Roundtrip Price Including All Taxes and Fees |
| United Flight 634 | 6:01 am Chicago, IL (ORD) | 9:06 am Newark, NJ (EWR) | 2 hrs 5 Min- Nonstop Flight # 634 on time 90% | $178 Per Person Total $204 |








