Route profile
LGA→ATL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New York to Atlanta, 762 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 26% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 24,614 flights. How this is calculated
LGA → ATL arrives on time 78.4% of the time; the return trip, ATL → LGA, arrives on time 76.4% of the time.
LGA → ATL spends 33.7 minutes on the ground on a 762-mile trip: 23.8 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LGA and 9.9 minutes from touchdown to gate at ATL.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
The airline matters unusually much on this route, a wider carrier-to-carrier gap than 99% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Spirit Airlines arrived on time 86.5% of the time, against 60.6% for Frontier Airlines, flying the exact same route.
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 2,692 in the comparison.
Why LGA → ATL flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
LGA → ATL cancelled 624 of 24,614 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 39. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 56.7% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 70 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 624 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.
354 cancellations, 56.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
170 cancellations, 27.2% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
100 cancellations, 16.0% 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.
624 coded cancellations were recorded on LGA → ATL; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
52 min late
against a median of 9 min early
LGA → ATL has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 9 min early, but the worst tenth are 61 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 24,614 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at ATL after arriving from LGA.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 34% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 21% | High risk |
| 60 min | 15% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 8.7% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.7% | 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 2.54% of the time and diverts 0.22% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 23,936 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 52 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 24,614 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LGA → ATL flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.7% of the time, against 61.8% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 25.9 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (LGA).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 9.1 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.1 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (433 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | 85.9% on time419 flights | 85.2% on time393 flights | 87.8% on time391 flights | 88.8% on time414 flights | 89.0% on time417 flights | 83.0% on time283 flights | 84.8% on time300 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 88.9% on time279 flights | 90.8% on time300 flights | 89.8% on time297 flights | 90.5% on time277 flights | 88.0% on time282 flights | 88.8% on time309 flights | 95.3% on time257 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 88.5% on time226 flights | 90.8% on time233 flights | 88.1% on time238 flights | 86.5% on time231 flights | 80.4% on time226 flights | 83.3% on time134 flights | 84.4% on time192 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 87.4% on time221 flights | 88.4% on time219 flights | 86.6% on time219 flights | 89.4% on time217 flights | 83.5% on time216 flights | 87.3% on time161 flights | 87.9% on time184 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 85.8% on time238 flights | 83.7% on time242 flights | 88.5% on time235 flights | 85.7% on time240 flights | 81.3% on time242 flights | 78.0% on time186 flights | 82.5% on time213 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 84.1% on time286 flights | 84.8% on time275 flights | 87.2% on time284 flights | 83.0% on time287 flights | 84.8% on time287 flights | 84.1% on time184 flights | 79.9% on time247 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 82.6% on time269 flights | 85.0% on time288 flights | 87.5% on time290 flights | 82.5% on time281 flights | 80.3% on time273 flights | 86.6% on time167 flights | 74.1% on time302 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 77.5% on time255 flights | 76.8% on time253 flights | 79.8% on time244 flights | 77.2% on time242 flights | 77.4% on time251 flights | 83.0% on time151 flights | 71.2% on time226 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 112 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 111 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 83.1% on time121 flights | 69.4% on time128 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 76.2% on time145 flights | 81.0% on time144 flights | 85.5% on time147 flights | 76.6% on time147 flights | 78.2% on time148 flights | 77.3% on time123 flights | 74.4% on time161 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 68.0% on time306 flights | 73.8% on time310 flights | 69.5% on time310 flights | 71.0% on time300 flights | 63.7% on time302 flights | 75.2% on time158 flights | 64.3% on time286 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 59.3% on time276 flights | 65.5% on time268 flights | 71.8% on time270 flights | 64.4% on time271 flights | 63.9% on time274 flights | 60.0% on time160 flights | 62.7% on time277 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 71.0% on time227 flights | 75.9% on time224 flights | 65.6% on time221 flights | 65.4% on time216 flights | 67.1% on time217 flights | 68.3% on time144 flights | 64.4% on time230 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 111 flights, too few to score | 106 flights, too few to score | 105 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 109 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score | 105 flights, too few to score |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 67.7% on time320 flights | 70.8% on time310 flights | 70.2% on time323 flights | 60.3% on time310 flights | 62.3% on time315 flights | 63 flights, too few to score | 59.1% on time309 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 86.6% on time from 2,617 flights
- 7 AM: 90.2% on time from 2,001 flights
- 8 AM: 86.2% on time from 1,480 flights
- 9 AM: 87.2% on time from 1,437 flights
- 10 AM: 83.9% on time from 1,596 flights
- 11 AM: 84.1% on time from 1,850 flights
- 12 PM: 82.4% on time from 1,870 flights
- 1 PM: 77.3% on time from 1,622 flights
- 2 PM: 80.1% on time from 802 flights
- 3 PM: 78.4% on time from 1,015 flights
- 4 PM: 69.0% on time from 1,972 flights
- 5 PM: 64.2% on time from 1,796 flights
- 6 PM: 68.3% on time from 1,479 flights
- 7 PM: 69.3% on time from 694 flights
- 8 PM: 65.0% on time from 1,950 flights
- 9 PM: too few flights to score
- 10 PM: 56.6% on time from 336 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why LGA → ATL runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
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 LGA → ATL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LGA → ATL, at 41.0%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 87.7% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 61.8%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
Bad weather raises cancellations by a similar amount at both ends of LGA to ATL: 4.1 times the normal rate at LGA and 3.3 times at ATL. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: LGA 9.0% against 2.2%, ATL 3.4% against 1.0%. Flights that did leave LGA in bad weather arrived on time 63.6% of the time, against 80.9% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | LGA | ATL |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 9.0% | 3.4% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 2.2% | 1.0% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 63.6% | 66.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 80.9% | 80.2% |
| Departures in bad weather | 56,339 | 105,854 |
Of the carriers on this route, Delta Air Lines (6.5% cancelled against 9.9% for the other carriers at LGA) cancelled the fewest departures from LGA in bad weather and Republic Airways (12.4% cancelled against 8.3% for the other carriers at LGA) the most.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at LGA
All departures from LGA| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 10,841 | 6.5%below the others | 9.9% |
| Southwest Airlines | 4,610 | 7.6%below the others | 9.3% |
| JetBlue | 3,007 | 6.9%below the others | 8.3% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,577 | 8.9%about level | 8.4% |
| Frontier Airlines | 864 | 10.6%above the others | 8.7% |
| Republic Airways | 18,154 | 12.4%above the others | 8.3% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from LGA and ATL, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from LGA on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: LGA (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 | 14,633 | 81.6% | 1.89% | -11 min | 7.2% |
| Southwest Airlines | 3,739 | 78.5% | 2.19% | -8 min | 8.4% |
| Frontier Airlines | 2,218 | 60.6% | 5.82% | 5 min | 18.1% |
| JetBlue | 1,761 | 70.8% | 2.27% | -6 min | 13.1% |
| Republic Airways | 1,733 | 77.1% | 5.19% | -9 min | 8.7% |
| Spirit Airlines | 524 | 86.5% | 1.15% | -14 min | 4.6% |
Delta Air Lines flew 59.5% of the 24,608 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 5.82% of its flights here against 1.15% for Spirit Airlines.
Spirit Airlines arrived on time 25.9 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly New York to Atlanta
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
JFK → ATL is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 76.0% on time, against 75.6% for EWR → ATL.
Flying to ATL from the New York area? Compare LGA, EWR, JFK for ATL, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| F93287 Frontier Airlines | 6:30 AM | 950 | 67.1% |
| DL342 Delta Air Lines | 6:59 AM | 826 | 91.8% |
| DL550 Delta Air Lines | 6:00 AM | 815 | 91.3% |
| DL992 Delta Air Lines | 9:00 AM | 772 | 86.3% |
| DL993 Delta Air Lines | 11:00 AM | 762 | 85.7% |
| F94347 Frontier Airlines | 11:30 AM | 743 | 57.5% |
| DL988 Delta Air Lines | 1:59 PM | 730 | 77.2% |
| DL968 Delta Air Lines | 5:00 PM | 725 | 72.8% |
| DL974 Delta Air Lines | 3:00 PM | 712 | 77.7% |
| DL990 Delta Air Lines | 12:00 PM | 707 | 83.8% |
DL342 (6:59 AM) arrived on time 91.8% of the time, 34.3 points more often than F94347 (11:30 AM) at 57.5%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 6.6 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 80.5%
- Feb: 82.5%
- Mar: 82.7%
- Apr: 81.1%
- May: 73.2%
- Jun: 74.8%
- Jul: 67.3%
- Aug: 78.5%
- Sep: 82.5%
- Oct: 81.1%
- Nov: 82.0%
- Dec: 77.3%
July is historically the weakest month and March the strongest, a spread of 15.4 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 68.3% from 645 flights
- August 2023: 77.8% from 679 flights
- September 2023: 73.5% from 652 flights
- October 2023: 85.3% from 698 flights
- November 2023: 87.9% from 685 flights
- December 2023: 86.5% from 653 flights
- January 2024: 82.6% from 644 flights
- February 2024: 87.7% from 622 flights
- March 2024: 88.4% from 659 flights
- April 2024: 83.1% from 706 flights
- May 2024: 76.6% from 729 flights
- June 2024: 78.3% from 710 flights
- July 2024: 63.7% from 744 flights
- August 2024: 74.6% from 710 flights
- September 2024: 85.1% from 695 flights
- October 2024: 89.3% from 713 flights
- November 2024: 89.2% from 585 flights
- December 2024: 78.8% from 588 flights
- January 2025: 76.0% from 576 flights
- February 2025: 77.2% from 528 flights
- March 2025: 83.4% from 579 flights
- April 2025: 81.0% from 579 flights
- May 2025: 69.9% from 606 flights
- June 2025: 65.2% from 598 flights
- July 2025: 69.6% from 620 flights
- August 2025: 83.7% from 606 flights
- September 2025: 87.7% from 746 flights
- October 2025: 69.8% from 798 flights
- November 2025: 70.7% from 758 flights
- December 2025: 67.6% from 752 flights
- January 2026: 82.2% from 734 flights
- February 2026: 81.9% from 672 flights
- March 2026: 76.0% from 675 flights
- April 2026: 78.9% from 640 flights
- May 2026: 72.5% from 677 flights
- June 2026: 79.7% from 665 flights
- July 2026: 68.4% from 688 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 76.4% against 78.4% in the 12 months before — declining by 2.0 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 24,614 LGA → 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