Route profile
JFK→SLC
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New York to Salt Lake City, 1,990 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 62% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 6,059 flights. How this is calculated
JFK → SLC arrives on time 79.9% of the time; the return trip, SLC → JFK, arrives on time 79.1% of the time.
JFK → SLC spends 35.6 minutes on the ground on a 1,990-mile trip: 28.0 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at JFK and 7.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at SLC.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
On-time performance swings unusually widely by time of day here, wider than 97% of 4,023 comparable routes.
89.1% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 53.5% for 9 PM–5 AM.
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 4,023 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where JFK to SLC differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
JFK to SLC struggles most at 9 PM: 53.5% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 20.8 points behind the 74.3% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 16 points.
JFK to SLC is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 3 PM: 84.0% arrive on time, 10.3 points ahead of the 73.7% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 11.3 points.
JFK to SLC holds up on Mondays better than routes of similar length do: 82.3% on time to their 78.0%, a 4.3 points lead. Against all other routes the gap is 5.1 points.
Saturday is the day JFK to SLC slips furthest against routes of similar length, 75.9% on time where they average 79.3%, 3.4 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 3.2 points.
May is kinder to JFK to SLC than to routes of similar length: 81.5% on time against 76.6%, 4.9 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 6.3 points.
JFK to SLC against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 9 PM departures | 53.5% | routes of similar length | 74.3% | −20.8 pts | 129 here, 37,229 there |
| Hour: 3 PM departures | 84.0% | routes of similar length | 73.7% | +10.3 pts | 213 here, 47,837 there |
| Weekday: Monday | 82.3% | routes of similar length | 78.0% | +4.3 pts | 844 here, 162,450 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 75.9% | routes of similar length | 79.3% | −3.4 pts | 860 here, 151,804 there |
| Month: May | 81.5% | routes of similar length | 76.6% | +4.9 pts | 464 here, 96,305 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 1,990 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why JFK → SLC flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
JFK → SLC cancelled 74 of 6,059 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 82. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 54.1% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 151 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 74 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.
40 cancellations, 54.1% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
22 cancellations, 29.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
12 cancellations, 16.2% 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. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
74 coded cancellations were recorded on JFK → SLC; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 11 min early
Percentiles over 6,059 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at SLC after arriving from JFK.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 32% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 13% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.9% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.1% | 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 1.22% of the time and diverts 0.20% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,973 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 42 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 6,059 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
JFK → SLC flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 89.1% of the time, against 53.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 35.6 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 90.2% on time from 1,046 flights
- 7 AM to 8 AM: too few flights to score
- 9 AM: 88.3% on time from 243 flights
- 10 AM: 79.9% on time from 414 flights
- 11 AM: 82.3% on time from 746 flights
- 12 PM: too few flights to score
- 1 PM: 83.8% on time from 218 flights
- 2 PM: too few flights to score
- 3 PM: 84.0% on time from 214 flights
- 4 PM: 82.2% on time from 722 flights
- 5 PM: 80.9% on time from 222 flights
- 6 PM: 73.0% on time from 1,054 flights
- 7 PM: 68.8% on time from 580 flights
- 8 PM: 74.5% on time from 283 flights
- 9 PM: 53.5% on time from 134 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why JFK → SLC runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
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 JFK → SLC. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
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 | 4,677 | 83.4% | 0.94% | -13 min | 5.3% |
| JetBlue | 1,382 | 68.1% | 2.17% | -3 min | 13.0% |
Delta Air Lines flew 77.2% of the 6,059 flights listed. JetBlue cancelled 2.17% of its flights here against 0.94% for Delta Air Lines.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 15.3 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
DL892 (6:45 AM) arrived on time 89.4% of the time, 22.3 points more often than B671 (6:30 PM) at 67.1%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Saturday the least, a gap of 8.1 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 79.5%
- Feb: 78.6%
- Mar: 81.5%
- Apr: 80.2%
- May: 81.5%
- Jun: 71.4%
- Jul: 70.6%
- Aug: 78.8%
- Sep: 85.9%
- Oct: 88.1%
- Nov: 86.1%
- Dec: 80.0%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 17.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 64.0% from 186 flights
- August 2023: 81.0% from 186 flights
- September 2023: 84.8% from 155 flights
- October 2023: 89.0% from 155 flights
- November 2023: 89.7% from 146 flights
- December 2023: 93.3% from 180 flights
- January 2024: 81.3% from 193 flights
- February 2024: 87.3% from 174 flights
- March 2024: 83.3% from 185 flights
- April 2024: 79.2% from 150 flights
- May 2024: 81.3% from 155 flights
- June 2024: 71.8% from 150 flights
- July 2024: 72.8% from 155 flights
- August 2024: 67.1% from 155 flights
- September 2024: 88.2% from 152 flights
- October 2024: 94.8% from 155 flights
- November 2024: 88.4% from 147 flights
- December 2024: 76.7% from 177 flights
- January 2025: 86.6% from 165 flights
- February 2025: 69.6% from 172 flights
- March 2025: 82.7% from 215 flights
- April 2025: 77.3% from 163 flights
- May 2025: 79.9% from 155 flights
- June 2025: 70.3% from 150 flights
- July 2025: 72.7% from 155 flights
- August 2025: 87.7% from 154 flights
- September 2025: 84.7% from 150 flights
- October 2025: 80.6% from 156 flights
- November 2025: 80.3% from 148 flights
- December 2025: 68.7% from 168 flights
- January 2026: 69.3% from 159 flights
- February 2026: 78.8% from 174 flights
- March 2026: 78.5% from 197 flights
- April 2026: 84.0% from 162 flights
- May 2026: 83.2% from 155 flights
- June 2026: 72.0% from 150 flights
- July 2026: 74.1% from 155 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 78.4% against 79.5% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 6,059 JFK → SLC 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