Route profile
LGA→TPA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New York to Tampa, 1,010 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 8% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 8,169 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
LGA → TPA arrives on time 73.2% of the time; the return trip, TPA → LGA, arrives on time 75.6% of the time, a 2.4-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
LGA → TPA spends 30.4 minutes on the ground on a 1,010-mile trip: 24.8 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LGA and 5.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at TPA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route's worst arrivals run unusually far past its typical one, a bigger gap than 95% of 4,598 comparable routes.
A typical arrival is 6 min early, but the worst tenth run 77 minutes worse than that.
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 4,598 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where LGA to TPA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
LGA to TPA struggles most at 4 PM: 51.2% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 16.7 points behind the 67.9% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 19.5 points.
Sunday is the day LGA to TPA slips furthest against routes of similar length, 65.2% on time where they average 73.5%, 8.3 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 9.6 points.
In December, LGA to TPA runs 9.9 points below routes of similar length, 67.7% on time to 77.6%. Against all other routes the gap is 11.1 points.
April is kinder to LGA to TPA than to routes of similar length: 82.8% on time against 79.3%, 3.5 points better.
American Airlines’ flights on LGA to TPA arrive on time 66.1% of the time, 7.9 points below the 74.0% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 9 points.
LGA to TPA against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 4 PM departures | 51.2% | routes of similar length | 67.9% | −16.7 pts | 170 here, 154,803 there |
| Weekday: Sunday | 65.2% | routes of similar length | 73.5% | −8.3 pts | 1,146 here, 435,365 there |
| Month: December | 67.7% | routes of similar length | 77.6% | −9.9 pts | 713 here, 247,212 there |
| Month: April | 82.8% | routes of similar length | 79.3% | +3.5 pts | 612 here, 248,722 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 66.1% | routes of similar length | 74.0% | −7.9 pts | 1,158 here, 559,799 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 1,010 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 LGA → TPA flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
LGA → TPA cancelled 214 of 8,169 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 38. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 63.1% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 61 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 214 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.
135 cancellations, 63.1% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
41 cancellations, 19.2% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
38 cancellations, 17.8% 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.
214 coded cancellations were recorded on LGA → TPA; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
71 min late
against a median of 6 min early
LGA → TPA has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 6 min early, but the worst tenth are 77 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 8,169 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at TPA after arriving from LGA.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 40% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 26% | High risk |
| 60 min | 19% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 7.5% | 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 2.62% of the time and diverts 0.60% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 7,906 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 71 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 8,169 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LGA → TPA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 88.6% of the time, against 59.1% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 29.5 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 92.9% on time from 201 flights
- 7 AM: 88.5% on time from 1,615 flights
- 8 AM: 83.3% on time from 133 flights
- 9 AM: 77.6% on time from 175 flights
- 10 AM: 81.3% on time from 621 flights
- 11 AM: 76.9% on time from 876 flights
- 12 PM: 80.3% on time from 394 flights
- 1 PM: 71.0% on time from 425 flights
- 2 PM: 65.6% on time from 250 flights
- 3 PM: 65.3% on time from 1,151 flights
- 4 PM: 51.2% on time from 175 flights
- 5 PM: too few flights to score
- 6 PM: 60.8% on time from 1,114 flights
- 7 PM: 62.1% on time from 617 flights
- 8 PM: 59.3% on time from 147 flights
- 9 PM: 59.1% on time from 165 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why LGA → TPA 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 → TPA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LGA → TPA, at 40.7%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 88.6% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 59.1%.
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 | 4,825 | 75.9% | 2.51% | -9 min | 10.6% |
| JetBlue | 1,778 | 72.1% | 3.32% | -6 min | 11.6% |
| American Airlines | 1,195 | 66.1% | 2.18% | 2 min | 14.1% |
| Southwest Airlines | 365 | 66.6% | 2.19% | 3 min | 14.6% |
Delta Air Lines flew 59.1% of the 8,163 flights listed. JetBlue cancelled 3.32% of its flights here against 2.18% for American Airlines.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 9.8 percentage points more often than American 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DL2433 Delta Air Lines | 6:59 PM | 606 | 62.4% |
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 14.1 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 74.1%
- Feb: 79.8%
- Mar: 69.8%
- Apr: 82.8%
- May: 68.0%
- Jun: 70.9%
- Jul: 65.3%
- Aug: 72.2%
- Sep: 75.6%
- Oct: 76.6%
- Nov: 78.4%
- Dec: 67.7%
July is historically the weakest month and April the strongest, a spread of 17.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 56.9% from 251 flights
- August 2023: 73.1% from 246 flights
- September 2023: 71.3% from 216 flights
- October 2023: 87.9% from 232 flights
- November 2023: 87.7% from 253 flights
- December 2023: 81.2% from 240 flights
- January 2024: 71.5% from 232 flights
- February 2024: 84.2% from 226 flights
- March 2024: 69.3% from 240 flights
- April 2024: 82.9% from 209 flights
- May 2024: 70.9% from 214 flights
- June 2024: 74.1% from 178 flights
- July 2024: 75.3% from 186 flights
- August 2024: 68.4% from 182 flights
- September 2024: 73.7% from 166 flights
- October 2024: 81.9% from 193 flights
- November 2024: 86.8% from 189 flights
- December 2024: 65.7% from 205 flights
- January 2025: 78.3% from 205 flights
- February 2025: 75.3% from 192 flights
- March 2025: 70.9% from 211 flights
- April 2025: 80.1% from 208 flights
- May 2025: 62.0% from 235 flights
- June 2025: 61.9% from 226 flights
- July 2025: 64.4% from 239 flights
- August 2025: 74.2% from 242 flights
- September 2025: 81.0% from 216 flights
- October 2025: 62.0% from 248 flights
- November 2025: 62.8% from 258 flights
- December 2025: 57.4% from 281 flights
- January 2026: 73.2% from 276 flights
- February 2026: 79.2% from 249 flights
- March 2026: 69.2% from 234 flights
- April 2026: 85.6% from 203 flights
- May 2026: 72.1% from 204 flights
- June 2026: 78.2% from 190 flights
- July 2026: 67.4% from 194 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 71.3% against 72.0% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 8,169 LGA → TPA 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