FlyerIntel

Route profile

LGA→BNA

Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New York to Nashville, 764 miles.

Right now

Origin · LGANo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated

New York airport profile →

Destination · BNANo disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Updated

Nashville airport profile →

Route reliability

July 2023 – July 2026

Route Reliability Score
53/ 100Fair

Better than 20% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)

Calculated from 12,768 flights. How this is calculated

On-time arrivals
78.7%
9,668 of 12,289
Cancellation rate
3.49%
445 cancelled
Median arrival delay
-9 min
Average 4.5 min
Severe delays
8.4%
60+ minutes late
Delay when late
72 min
Average, when 15+ min late
Flights analyzed
12,768
8 carriers

LGA → BNA arrives on time 78.7% of the time; the return trip, BNA → LGA, arrives on time 78.1% of the time.

LGA → BNA spends 32.8 minutes on the ground on a 764-mile trip: 24.3 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LGA and 8.5 minutes from touchdown to gate at BNA.

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 96% of 2,692 comparable routes.

Spirit Airlines arrived on time 93.8% of the time, against 72.4% for Delta Air Lines, 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 → BNA flights are cancelled

July 2023 – July 2026

LGA → BNA cancelled 445 of 12,768 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 29. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 48.5% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 59 scheduled flights.

Share of cancellations

Weather48.5%
Air traffic30.8%
Airline20.7%
Security0.0%

Of 445 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.

What each reason means

Extreme weather1 in 59

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

216 cancellations, 48.5% of the total.

The air traffic system1 in 93

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

137 cancellations, 30.8% of the total.

The airline1 in 139

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

92 cancellations, 20.7% 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.

445 coded cancellations were recorded on LGA → BNA; the section appears from 50.

When it goes wrong

July 2023 – July 2026

One arrival in ten is worse than

50 min late

against a median of 9 min early

Arrived an hour or more late8.4%
Typical delay when late72 min
Cancelled3.49%
Landed somewhere else0.27%

Percentiles over 12,768 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.

Will your connection be tight enough?

Layovers at BNA after arriving from LGA.

Connection buffer and chance of missing by layover length, LGA → BNA arrivals
Connection timeChance of missingReads as
30 min34%Likely to miss
45 min21%High risk
60 min15%Some risk
90 min8.4%Some risk
120 min5.1%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 3.49% of the time and diverts 0.27% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.

Chance of missing is the share of 12,289 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 50 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 12,768 operations.

Any other layover length: connection checker.

Best time to fly

LGA → BNA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 90.2% of the time, against 63.8% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 26.4 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 8.4 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.0 points.

On-time arrival rate for LGA to BNA by weekday and scheduled departure hour, local time. Each button reads out one slot.
HourMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
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

  • 60–64
  • 65–69
  • 70–74
  • 75–79
  • 80–84
  • 85–89
  • 90–94
  • 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 (472 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 LGA to BNA. A dash means fewer than 120 flights, which are not scored.
HourMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
6 AM–7 AM94.3% on time144 flights91.8% on time186 flights94.1% on time190 flights92.4% on time145 flights93.5% on time141 flights68 flights, too few to score63 flights, too few to score
7 AM–8 AM89.1% on time199 flights85.8% on time157 flights92.6% on time153 flights90.2% on time197 flights83.9% on time203 flights97 flights, too few to score94.0% on time155 flights
8 AM–9 AM29 flights, too few to score31 flights, too few to score28 flights, too few to score30 flights, too few to score30 flights, too few to score111 flights, too few to score27 flights, too few to score
9 AM–10 AM89.7% on time177 flights88.0% on time190 flights85.9% on time201 flights86.2% on time175 flights84.3% on time172 flights82.2% on time158 flights90.9% on time135 flights
10 AM–11 AM109 flights, too few to score108 flights, too few to score110 flights, too few to score108 flights, too few to score109 flights, too few to score79 flights, too few to score81 flights, too few to score
11 AM–12 PM88 flights, too few to score83 flights, too few to score76 flights, too few to score82 flights, too few to score88 flights, too few to score90 flights, too few to score71.8% on time120 flights
12 PM–1 PM103 flights, too few to score89 flights, too few to score92 flights, too few to score106 flights, too few to score105 flights, too few to score84 flights, too few to score110 flights, too few to score
1 PM–2 PM116 flights, too few to score116 flights, too few to score118 flights, too few to score117 flights, too few to score115 flights, too few to score43 flights, too few to score110 flights, too few to score
2 PM–3 PM74.4% on time161 flights77.0% on time170 flights78.1% on time173 flights74.7% on time162 flights74.0% on time161 flights106 flights, too few to score78.6% on time145 flights
3 PM–4 PM67 flights, too few to score61 flights, too few to score63 flights, too few to score65 flights, too few to score67 flights, too few to score111 flights, too few to score68 flights, too few to score
4 PM–5 PM81 flights, too few to score90 flights, too few to score89 flights, too few to score75 flights, too few to score78 flights, too few to score88 flights, too few to score64.5% on time128 flights
5 PM–6 PM75.9% on time211 flights76.7% on time181 flights75.3% on time181 flights66.0% on time211 flights68.9% on time210 flights79.8% on time127 flights76.2% on time180 flights
6 PM–7 PM80 flights, too few to score97 flights, too few to score96 flights, too few to score80 flights, too few to score84 flights, too few to score52 flights, too few to score84 flights, too few to score
7 PM–8 PM68.1% on time149 flights72.5% on time146 flights77.8% on time141 flights71.4% on time144 flights69.8% on time132 flights18 flights, too few to score70.6% on time147 flights
8 PM–9 PM72.8% on time168 flights74.5% on time159 flights69.7% on time163 flights69.1% on time161 flights62.0% on time174 flights5 flights, too few to score67.9% on time159 flights

By departure window

5–9 AM90.2%
9 AM–12 PM83.5%
12–3 PM80.0%
3–6 PM72.3%
6–9 PM69.6%
9 PM–5 AM63.8%

By departure hour

  • 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
  • 6 AM: 92.8% on time from 937 flights
  • 7 AM: 89.3% on time from 1,161 flights
  • 8 AM: 85.3% on time from 286 flights
  • 9 AM: 86.6% on time from 1,208 flights
  • 10 AM: 85.0% on time from 704 flights
  • 11 AM: 75.6% on time from 627 flights
  • 12 PM: 83.8% on time from 689 flights
  • 1 PM: 80.6% on time from 735 flights
  • 2 PM: 77.1% on time from 1,078 flights
  • 3 PM: 68.5% on time from 502 flights
  • 4 PM: 72.9% on time from 629 flights
  • 5 PM: 73.6% on time from 1,301 flights
  • 6 PM: 66.9% on time from 573 flights
  • 7 PM: 71.7% on time from 877 flights
  • 8 PM: 69.3% on time from 989 flights
  • 9 PM: 63.7% on time from 471 flights
  • 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score

Why LGA → BNA runs late

July 2023 – July 2026

Late-arriving aircraft39.8%

the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late

The airline30.8%

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

Air traffic control22.8%

airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control

Weather6.5%

weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically

Security0.1%

screening or terminal security incidents

Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for LGA → BNA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.

Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LGA → BNA, at 39.8%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 90.2% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 63.8%.

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 BNA: 4.1 times the normal rate at LGA and 4.4 times at BNA. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: LGA 9.0% against 2.2%, BNA 4.7% against 1.1%. 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 and BNA in hours of bad weather and in normal hours
Departures fromLGABNA
Cancelled in bad weather9.0%4.7%
Cancelled in normal hours2.2%1.1%
Arrived on time, bad weather63.6%66.5%
Arrived on time, normal hours80.9%79.0%
Departures in bad weather56,33920,643

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
Cancellation rates in bad weather at LGA for the airlines that fly LGA to BNA, against the other carriers at LGA in the same months
AirlineBad-weather departuresCancelledOther carriers
Delta Air Lines10,8416.5%below the others9.9%
American Airlines6,6857.6%below the others9.3%
Southwest Airlines4,6107.6%below the others9.3%
JetBlue3,0076.9%below the others8.3%
Spirit Airlines2,5778.9%about level8.4%
SkyWest Airlines9549.0%above the others6.7%
Endeavor Air5,4888.7%above the others6.0%
Republic Airways18,15412.4%above the others8.3%

These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from LGA and BNA, 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), BNA, 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
CarrierFlightsOn timeCancelledMedian delaySevere
Republic Airways4,89281.1%4.17%-11 min6.8%
Southwest Airlines4,61277.0%2.82%-6 min8.0%
SkyWest Airlines91873.0%3.70%-7 min14.9%
Endeavor Air71885.3%4.18%-15 min5.0%
Delta Air Lines70672.4%3.97%-7 min13.8%
American Airlines49572.9%3.03%-10 min16.5%
JetBlue21679.9%0.93%-15 min10.7%
Spirit Airlines21193.8%0.95%-24 min2.4%

Republic Airways flew 38.3% of the 12,768 flights listed. Endeavor Air cancelled 4.18% of its flights here against 0.93% for JetBlue.

Spirit Airlines arrived on time 21.4 percentage points more often than Delta Air Lines on this route.

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

Mon79.1%
Tue79.2%
Wed80.9%
Thu77.8%
Fri76.8%
Sat82.3%
Sun75.7%

Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 6.6 percentage points.

By month

  • Jan: 82.3%
  • Feb: 84.5%
  • Mar: 79.4%
  • Apr: 79.1%
  • May: 72.6%
  • Jun: 73.8%
  • Jul: 71.6%
  • Aug: 82.9%
  • Sep: 82.9%
  • Oct: 79.3%
  • Nov: 82.4%
  • Dec: 76.0%

July is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 12.9 percentage points.

Reliability over time

July 2023 – July 2026

  • July 2023: 70.7% from 365 flights
  • August 2023: 85.9% from 381 flights
  • September 2023: 74.5% from 393 flights
  • October 2023: 85.7% from 428 flights
  • November 2023: 90.2% from 388 flights
  • December 2023: 89.4% from 362 flights
  • January 2024: 81.9% from 327 flights
  • February 2024: 89.5% from 312 flights
  • March 2024: 90.2% from 327 flights
  • April 2024: 88.3% from 390 flights
  • May 2024: 77.2% from 402 flights
  • June 2024: 79.4% from 383 flights
  • July 2024: 74.2% from 404 flights
  • August 2024: 79.7% from 381 flights
  • September 2024: 90.4% from 366 flights
  • October 2024: 90.5% from 382 flights
  • November 2024: 90.5% from 349 flights
  • December 2024: 77.4% from 340 flights
  • January 2025: 81.1% from 313 flights
  • February 2025: 80.1% from 289 flights
  • March 2025: 82.3% from 336 flights
  • April 2025: 78.3% from 352 flights
  • May 2025: 70.5% from 369 flights
  • June 2025: 69.1% from 324 flights
  • July 2025: 67.8% from 324 flights
  • August 2025: 82.7% from 296 flights
  • September 2025: 84.2% from 301 flights
  • October 2025: 58.5% from 349 flights
  • November 2025: 64.5% from 336 flights
  • December 2025: 59.1% from 325 flights
  • January 2026: 84.0% from 307 flights
  • February 2026: 83.3% from 293 flights
  • March 2026: 65.9% from 366 flights
  • April 2026: 69.4% from 339 flights
  • May 2026: 69.0% from 283 flights
  • June 2026: 71.4% from 286 flights
  • July 2026: 73.0% from 300 flights

Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 71.6% against 80.0% in the 12 months before — declining by 8.4 percentage points.

Data and methodology

Calculated by FlyerIntel from 12,768 LGA → BNA 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

LGA airportBNA airportReturn direction BNA → LGA