Route profile
BOS→ATL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Boston to Atlanta, 946 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 46% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 15,469 flights. How this is calculated
BOS → ATL arrives on time 78.5% of the time; the return trip, ATL → BOS, arrives on time 76.6% of the time.
BOS → ATL spends 30.8 minutes on the ground on a 946-mile trip: 20.5 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at BOS and 10.3 minutes from touchdown to gate at ATL.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route has stayed remarkably steady year over year, a smaller swing than 98% of 5,368 comparable routes.
77.8% on time over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), against 77.7% in the 12 months before (2024-08 to 2025-07), virtually unchanged.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 5,368 in the comparison.
Why BOS → ATL flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
BOS → ATL cancelled 213 of 15,469 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 73. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 51.6% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 141 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 213 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
110 cancellations, 51.6% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
71 cancellations, 33.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
32 cancellations, 15.0% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
213 coded cancellations were recorded on BOS → ATL; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
47 min late
against a median of 8 min early
Percentiles over 15,469 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at ATL after arriving from BOS.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 36% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 21% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 7.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.8% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.38% of the time and diverts 0.25% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 15,218 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 47 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 15,469 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
BOS → ATL flights departing 9 AM–12 PM arrived on time 86.1% of the time, against 52.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 33.6 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (BOS).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 8.3 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 3.6 points.
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 60–69
- 70–79
- 80–89
- 90–99
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures after 9 PM (163 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 87.4% on time157 flights | 86.6% on time147 flights | 92.5% on time148 flights | 88.0% on time158 flights | 89.7% on time158 flights | 87.9% on time154 flights | 85.4% on time157 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 76.4% on time197 flights | 76.0% on time185 flights | 82.0% on time190 flights | 87.3% on time190 flights | 82.7% on time192 flights | 79.1% on time152 flights | 76.6% on time194 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 98 flights, too few to score | 101 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score | 101 flights, too few to score | 98 flights, too few to score | 80.7% on time122 flights | 99 flights, too few to score |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 85.0% on time210 flights | 91.6% on time219 flights | 90.7% on time214 flights | 85.0% on time208 flights | 86.5% on time211 flights | 90.7% on time156 flights | 80.6% on time203 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 79.8% on time122 flights | 89.2% on time141 flights | 87.1% on time124 flights | 91.7% on time132 flights | 82.9% on time127 flights | 86.0% on time124 flights | 85.5% on time132 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 81.4% on time178 flights | 89.3% on time150 flights | 95.3% on time150 flights | 91.2% on time159 flights | 82.1% on time181 flights | 87.7% on time139 flights | 85.0% on time154 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 49 flights, too few to score | 62 flights, too few to score | 58 flights, too few to score | 55 flights, too few to score | 45 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score | 52 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 79.6% on time166 flights | 83.5% on time160 flights | 89.0% on time163 flights | 87.0% on time155 flights | 88.6% on time167 flights | 82.9% on time166 flights | 80.0% on time158 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 78.8% on time147 flights | 82.9% on time140 flights | 88.3% on time145 flights | 81.9% on time138 flights | 84.6% on time146 flights | 82.4% on time127 flights | 76.5% on time137 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 69 flights, too few to score | 72 flights, too few to score | 71 flights, too few to score | 73 flights, too few to score | 71 flights, too few to score | 84 flights, too few to score | 73 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 68.4% on time255 flights | 80.9% on time233 flights | 83.1% on time236 flights | 69.4% on time253 flights | 67.6% on time253 flights | 72.1% on time212 flights | 67.2% on time247 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 119 flights, too few to score | 108 flights, too few to score | 109 flights, too few to score | 113 flights, too few to score | 118 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score | 115 flights, too few to score |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 64.0% on time126 flights | 75.6% on time129 flights | 119 flights, too few to score | 64.9% on time135 flights | 72.8% on time127 flights | 103 flights, too few to score | 67.4% on time138 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 75.9% on time172 flights | 75.3% on time169 flights | 76.7% on time173 flights | 66.1% on time168 flights | 72.1% on time171 flights | 79.1% on time166 flights | 62.2% on time168 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 45 flights, too few to score | 42 flights, too few to score | 52 flights, too few to score | 45 flights, too few to score | 46 flights, too few to score | 72 flights, too few to score | 54 flights, too few to score |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 69.1% on time180 flights | 57 flights, too few to score | 66 flights, too few to score | 65.3% on time175 flights | 59.8% on time176 flights | 61 flights, too few to score | 61.0% on time168 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 88.2% on time from 1,079 flights
- 6 AM: 80.1% on time from 1,300 flights
- 7 AM: 83.8% on time from 719 flights
- 8 AM: 87.1% on time from 1,421 flights
- 9 AM: 86.2% on time from 902 flights
- 10 AM: 87.1% on time from 1,111 flights
- 11 AM: 82.5% on time from 372 flights
- 12 PM: 84.4% on time from 1,135 flights
- 1 PM: 82.2% on time from 980 flights
- 2 PM: 74.3% on time from 513 flights
- 3 PM: 72.5% on time from 1,689 flights
- 4 PM: 66.5% on time from 782 flights
- 5 PM: 70.5% on time from 877 flights
- 6 PM: 72.5% on time from 1,187 flights
- 7 PM: 63.2% on time from 356 flights
- 8 PM: 64.5% on time from 883 flights
- 9 PM: 52.5% on time from 163 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why BOS → ATL runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for BOS → ATL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
Bad weather raises cancellations by a similar amount at both ends of BOS to ATL: 3.9 times the normal rate at BOS and 3.3 times at ATL. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: BOS 5.3% against 1.4%, ATL 3.4% against 1.0%. Flights that did leave BOS in bad weather arrived on time 65.1% of the time, against 79.7% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | BOS | ATL |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 5.3% | 3.4% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 1.4% | 1.0% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 65.1% | 66.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 79.7% | 80.2% |
| Departures in bad weather | 60,840 | 105,854 |
Of the carriers on this route, Delta Air Lines (3.1% cancelled against 5.8% for the other carriers at BOS) cancelled the fewest departures from BOS in bad weather and Spirit Airlines (7.8% cancelled against 4.4% for the other carriers at BOS) the most. One more carrier flies this route but has too few bad-weather departures from BOS to compare.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at BOS
All departures from BOS| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 10,971 | 3.1%below the others | 5.8% |
| JetBlue | 17,332 | 5.4%about level | 5.1% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,112 | 7.8%above the others | 4.4% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from BOS and ATL, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from BOS on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: BOS (airlines), ATL, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 11,228 | 82.0% | 1.08% | -9 min | 6.6% |
| JetBlue | 2,662 | 70.2% | 2.14% | -3 min | 12.1% |
| Spirit Airlines | 888 | 68.6% | 1.01% | -2 min | 11.5% |
| Frontier Airlines | 691 | 63.8% | 3.76% | 4 min | 10.6% |
Delta Air Lines flew 72.6% of the 15,469 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 3.76% of its flights here against 1.01% for Spirit Airlines.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 18.2 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| DL695 Delta Air Lines | 5:40 AM | 1,126 | 90.3% |
| DL322 Delta Air Lines | 2:00 PM | 1,115 | 81.4% |
| DL456 Delta Air Lines | 9:05 AM | 1,105 | 87.7% |
| DL385 Delta Air Lines | 6:30 PM | 1,075 | 82.7% |
| DL923 Delta Air Lines | 6:55 AM | 1,056 | 85.6% |
| DL973 Delta Air Lines | 10:10 AM | 932 | 81.4% |
| B61097 JetBlue | 7:00 AM | 902 | 81.6% |
| DL638 Delta Air Lines | 4:55 PM | 870 | 76.0% |
| B6697 JetBlue | 3:45 PM | 741 | 62.8% |
DL695 (5:40 AM) arrived on time 90.3% of the time, 27.5 points more often than B6697 (3:45 PM) at 62.8%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 11.3 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 74.2%
- Feb: 79.9%
- Mar: 83.4%
- Apr: 79.3%
- May: 78.1%
- Jun: 80.0%
- Jul: 67.9%
- Aug: 75.5%
- Sep: 79.3%
- Oct: 85.1%
- Nov: 84.9%
- Dec: 77.2%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 17.2 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 62.7% from 436 flights
- August 2023: 72.6% from 446 flights
- September 2023: 75.2% from 430 flights
- October 2023: 87.4% from 443 flights
- November 2023: 89.6% from 396 flights
- December 2023: 89.4% from 387 flights
- January 2024: 76.9% from 342 flights
- February 2024: 91.3% from 321 flights
- March 2024: 87.4% from 373 flights
- April 2024: 80.1% from 389 flights
- May 2024: 79.4% from 415 flights
- June 2024: 80.1% from 403 flights
- July 2024: 68.1% from 425 flights
- August 2024: 72.5% from 464 flights
- September 2024: 79.9% from 478 flights
- October 2024: 85.8% from 487 flights
- November 2024: 86.6% from 457 flights
- December 2024: 74.2% from 474 flights
- January 2025: 73.3% from 380 flights
- February 2025: 73.7% from 343 flights
- March 2025: 82.9% from 423 flights
- April 2025: 77.3% from 463 flights
- May 2025: 74.1% from 459 flights
- June 2025: 76.6% from 437 flights
- July 2025: 73.6% from 425 flights
- August 2025: 82.1% from 403 flights
- September 2025: 82.8% from 401 flights
- October 2025: 81.8% from 425 flights
- November 2025: 78.4% from 414 flights
- December 2025: 69.0% from 417 flights
- January 2026: 72.2% from 343 flights
- February 2026: 74.8% from 327 flights
- March 2026: 80.2% from 403 flights
- April 2026: 80.5% from 445 flights
- May 2026: 80.7% from 463 flights
- June 2026: 83.0% from 465 flights
- July 2026: 67.3% from 467 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 77.8% against 77.7% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 15,469 BOS → ATL flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed