BOS → JFK Flight Reliability

Right now

Origin · BOSNo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated 07:54 UTC

Boston airport profile →

Destination · JFKNo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated 07:51 UTC

New York airport profile →

Route reliability

July 2023 – July 2026

Route Reliability Score

49/ 100Fair

Better than 13% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)

Calculated from 17,280 flights. How this is calculated

On-time arrivals

77.0%

12,836 of 16,676

Cancellation rate

3.47%

600 cancelled

Median arrival delay

-7 min

Average 7.8 min

Severe delays

9.5%

60+ minutes late

Delay when late

72 min

Average, when 15+ min late

Flights analyzed

17,280

4 carriers

BOS → JFK arrives on time 77.0% of the time; the return trip, JFK → BOS, arrives on time 74.8% of the time, a 2.2-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.

BOS → JFK spends 33.4 minutes on the ground on a 187-mile trip: 21.8 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at BOS and 11.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at JFK.

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026

Why BOS → JFK flights are cancelled

July 2023 – July 2026

BOS → JFK cancelled 600 of 17,280 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 29. The reason filed most often was the air traffic system, 54.3% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 53 scheduled flights.

Share of cancellations

Air traffic54.3%

Weather31.0%

Airline14.7%

Security0.0%

Of 600 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.

What each reason means

The air traffic system1 in 53

Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.

326 cancellations, 54.3% of the total.

Extreme weather1 in 93

Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.

186 cancellations, 31.0% of the total.

The airline1 in 196

Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.

88 cancellations, 14.7% of the total.

Security—

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.

600 coded cancellations were recorded on BOS → JFK; the section appears from 50.

When it goes wrong

July 2023 – July 2026

One arrival in ten is worse than

56 min late

against a median of 7 min early

Arrived an hour or more late9.5%

Typical delay when late72 min

Cancelled3.47%

Landed somewhere else0.02%

BOS → JFK has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 7 min early, but the worst tenth are 63 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.

Percentiles over 17,280 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.

Will your connection be tight enough?

Layovers at JFK after arriving from BOS.

Connection buffer and chance of missing by layover length, BOS → JFK arrivals
Connection time	Chance of missing	Reads as
30 min	36%	Likely to miss
45 min	22%	High risk
60 min	16%	High risk
90 min	9.3%	Some risk
120 min	5.9%	Some 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 3.47% of the time and diverts 0.02% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.

Chance of missing is the share of 16,676 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 56 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 17,280 operations.

Any other layover length: connection checker.

Best time to fly

BOS → JFK flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 89.0% of the time, against 63.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 25.5 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 11.2 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.5 points.

On-time arrival rate for BOS to JFK by weekday and scheduled departure hour, local time. Each button reads out one slot.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
5 AM–6 AM
6 AM–7 AM
7 AM–8 AM
8 AM–9 AM
9 AM–10 AM
10 AM–11 AM
11 AM–12 PM
12 PM–1 PM
1 PM–2 PM
2 PM–3 PM
3 PM–4 PM
4 PM–5 PM
5 PM–6 PM
6 PM–7 PM
7 PM–8 PM
8 PM–9 PM

On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time

50–59
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 (384 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.

View as tableHide table

On-time arrival rate (%) with flights beneath, by scheduled departure hour and weekday for BOS to JFK. A dash means fewer than 120 flights, which are not scored.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
5 AM–6 AM	92.8% on time171 flights	90.8% on time157 flights	89.7% on time158 flights	90.5% on time159 flights	89.7% on time159 flights	89.5% on time156 flights	84.7% on time162 flights
6 AM–7 AM	90.3% on time287 flights	89.2% on time274 flights	88.3% on time288 flights	92.5% on time284 flights	91.3% on time290 flights	90.4% on time277 flights	91.2% on time289 flights
7 AM–8 AM	115 flights, too few to score	92.4% on time136 flights	113 flights, too few to score	85.5% on time126 flights	107 flights, too few to score	84.4% on time123 flights	81.6% on time127 flights
8 AM–9 AM	84 flights, too few to score	80 flights, too few to score	83 flights, too few to score	83 flights, too few to score	81 flights, too few to score	66 flights, too few to score	78 flights, too few to score
9 AM–10 AM	89.3% on time134 flights	87.8% on time141 flights	92.1% on time141 flights	87.1% on time141 flights	86.6% on time135 flights	90.8% on time144 flights	87.0% on time139 flights
10 AM–11 AM	86.2% on time188 flights	90.8% on time189 flights	88.8% on time188 flights	83.4% on time189 flights	85.0% on time193 flights	87.6% on time186 flights	83.3% on time187 flights
11 AM–12 PM	78.3% on time165 flights	86.1% on time163 flights	87.0% on time154 flights	86.3% on time161 flights	81.8% on time158 flights	79.2% on time130 flights	80.7% on time165 flights
12 PM–1 PM	93 flights, too few to score	95 flights, too few to score	100 flights, too few to score	95 flights, too few to score	105 flights, too few to score	113 flights, too few to score	94 flights, too few to score
1 PM–2 PM	71.6% on time243 flights	78.2% on time253 flights	79.8% on time249 flights	68.5% on time243 flights	78.4% on time244 flights	76.6% on time227 flights	70.8% on time247 flights
2 PM–3 PM	66 flights, too few to score	72 flights, too few to score	66 flights, too few to score	68 flights, too few to score	67 flights, too few to score	80 flights, too few to score	71 flights, too few to score
3 PM–4 PM	67.9% on time142 flights	71.2% on time143 flights	76.4% on time144 flights	71.9% on time138 flights	73.3% on time144 flights	80.4% on time143 flights	65.7% on time149 flights
4 PM–5 PM	63 flights, too few to score	64 flights, too few to score	65 flights, too few to score	69 flights, too few to score	64 flights, too few to score	93 flights, too few to score	66 flights, too few to score
5 PM–6 PM	59.9% on time234 flights	64.5% on time226 flights	67.1% on time236 flights	50.0% on time226 flights	58.1% on time226 flights	59.4% on time242 flights	50.3% on time210 flights
6 PM–7 PM	87 flights, too few to score	85 flights, too few to score	70 flights, too few to score	95 flights, too few to score	76 flights, too few to score	119 flights, too few to score	82 flights, too few to score
7 PM–8 PM	66.9% on time195 flights	71.6% on time204 flights	67.5% on time207 flights	54.2% on time187 flights	61.8% on time180 flights	73.3% on time198 flights	60.6% on time183 flights
8 PM–9 PM	58.3% on time150 flights	62.1% on time142 flights	64.7% on time144 flights	58.9% on time148 flights	57.4% on time159 flights	57.2% on time151 flights	54.2% on time152 flights

By departure window

5–9 AM89.0%

9 AM–12 PM85.9%

12–3 PM73.9%

3–6 PM65.3%

6–9 PM64.5%

9 PM–5 AM63.5%

By departure hour

12 AM

3 AM

6 AM

9 AM

12 PM

3 PM

6 PM

9 PM

Why BOS → JFK runs late

July 2023 – July 2026

Air traffic control34.7%

airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control

Late-arriving aircraft33.3%

the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late

The airline29.1%

crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control

Weather2.7%

weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically

Security0.2%

screening or terminal security incidents

Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for BOS → JFK. 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 JFK: 3.9 times the normal rate at BOS and 3.5 times at JFK. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: BOS 5.3% against 1.4%, JFK 6.0% against 1.7%. Flights that did leave JFK in bad weather arrived on time 64.1% 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 and JFK in hours of bad weather and in normal hours
Departures from	BOS	JFK
Cancelled in bad weather	5.3%	6.0%
Cancelled in normal hours	1.4%	1.7%
Arrived on time, bad weather	65.1%	64.1%
Arrived on time, normal hours	79.7%	79.7%
Departures in bad weather	60,840	46,497

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 Republic Airways (8.1% cancelled against 5.0% 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

Cancellation rates in bad weather at BOS for the airlines that fly BOS to JFK, against the other carriers at BOS in the same months
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%
Republic Airways	12,581	8.1%above the others	5.0%

These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from BOS and JFK, 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), JFK, 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.

Airlines on this route
Carrier	Flights	On time	Cancelled	Median delay	Severe
Republic Airways	8,169	78.4%	4.05%	-8 min	8.3%
JetBlue	7,603	73.6%	3.14%	-6 min	11.6%
Delta Air Lines	1,243	88.3%	1.45%	-12 min	4.9%
SkyWest Airlines	255	75.3%	4.71%	-8 min	9.1%

Republic Airways flew 47.3% of the 17,270 flights listed. SkyWest Airlines cancelled 4.71% of its flights here against 1.45% for Delta Air Lines.

Delta Air Lines arrived on time 14.7 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.

Other ways to fly Boston to New York

Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.

Other ways to fly Boston to New York
Route	Flights	On time	Cancelled	Median delay	Score
BOS→LGA Boston to New York	22,955	81.1%	4.01%	-11 min	53
BOS→JFK this route Boston to New York	17,280	77.0%	3.47%	-7 min	49
BOS→EWR Boston to Newark	12,192	77.3%	3.85%	-9 min	46

BOS → LGA is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 81.1% on time, against 77.3% for BOS → EWR.

Flights on this route

Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.

Flights on this route
Flight	Scheduled	Operations	On time
DL2611 Delta Air Lines	6:00 AM	869	89.9%
YX5720 Republic Airways	10:00 AM	771	86.7%
B6217 JetBlue	8:30 AM	741	82.6%
B6717 JetBlue	7:15 AM	687	73.0%
B61117 JetBlue	8:40 AM	624	71.1%

DL2611 (6:00 AM) arrived on time 89.9% of the time, 18.8 points more often than B61117 (8:40 AM) at 71.1%.

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

Mon76.3%

Tue80.2%

Wed80.0%

Thu74.5%

Fri77.0%

Sat77.9%

Sun72.8%

Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 7.4 percentage points.

By month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 18.9 percentage points.

Reliability over time

July 2023 – July 2026

24

25

26

Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 75.2% against 77.5% in the 12 months before — declining by 2.3 percentage points.

Data and methodology

Calculated by FlyerIntel from 17,280 BOS → JFK 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

Analysis last recomputed September 26, 2026

BOS airport JFK airport Return direction JFK → BOS

BOS→JFK

Right now

Route reliability

Why BOS → JFK flights are cancelled

Share of cancellations

What each reason means

When it goes wrong

Will your connection be tight enough?

Best time to fly

By day and hour

By departure window

By departure hour

Why BOS → JFK runs late

How this route holds up in bad weather

Bad weather and normal hours at the airports

This route’s airlines in bad weather at BOS

Airlines on this route

Other ways to fly Boston to New York

Flights on this route

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

By month

Reliability over time

Data and methodology