Route profile
MEM→CLT
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Memphis to Charlotte, 511 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 38% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 5,788 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
MEM → CLT arrives on time 80.0% of the time; the return trip, CLT → MEM, arrives on time 73.1% of the time, a 6.9-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
MEM → CLT spends 30.4 minutes on the ground on a 511-mile trip: 15.3 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at MEM and 15.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at CLT.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where MEM to CLT differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
MEM to CLT struggles most at 7 AM: 81.1% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 7.2 points behind the 88.3% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 6.7 points.
In January, MEM to CLT runs 5.8 points below routes of similar length, 74.0% on time to 79.8%. Against all other routes the gap is 5.1 points.
March is kinder to MEM to CLT than to routes of similar length: 83.9% on time against 79.0%, 4.9 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 6 points.
American Airlines does better on MEM to CLT than on its routes of similar length: 81.2% on time here, 74.6% there, 6.6 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 6.1 points.
PSA Airlines’ flights on MEM to CLT arrive on time 71.7% of the time, 3.8 points below the 75.5% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 4 points.
MEM to CLT against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 7 AM departures | 81.1% | routes of similar length | 88.3% | −7.2 pts | 908 here, 100,796 there |
| Month: January | 74.0% | routes of similar length | 79.8% | −5.8 pts | 411 here, 103,842 there |
| Month: March | 83.9% | routes of similar length | 79.0% | +4.9 pts | 447 here, 115,757 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 81.2% | routes of similar length | 74.6% | +6.6 pts | 4,951 here, 222,503 there |
| Airline: PSA Airlines | 71.7% | routes of similar length | 75.5% | −3.8 pts | 735 here, 30,604 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 511 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.
MEM to CLT in context
This route against MEM and CLT as a whole, against similar routes from MEM, and against its own first year, July 2023 – July 2026.
MEM to CLT arrived on time 82.9% of the time in its latest twelve months (August 2025 to July 2026), 3.5 points above the 79.4% of its first twelve (July 2023 to June 2024).
Cancellations rose from 0.91% of scheduled flights (18 of 1,970) in the first twelve months to 2.07% (36 of 1,742) in the latest twelve.
Of the 5,505 flights scheduled in hours with at least 120 flights, 5 AM is the busiest hour with 975 (17.7%), 89.1% of them on time, and 6 AM the quietest with 121 (2.2%).
Airport comparisons take this route’s flights out of the airport total. Length means within 15% of this route’s distance, with at least 3 other routes from the same origin. On-time gaps are stated at 2 points and 2 standard errors, cancellation gaps at 0.5 points and 2 standard errors, and every group needs 750 flights. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why MEM → CLT flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
MEM → CLT cancelled 94 of 5,788 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 62. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 87.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 71 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 94 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.
82 cancellations, 87.2% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
11 cancellations, 11.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
1 cancellation, 1.1% 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.
94 coded cancellations were recorded on MEM → CLT; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 6 min early
Percentiles over 5,788 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at CLT after arriving from MEM.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 35% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 13% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 7.3% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.8% | 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 1.62% of the time and diverts 0.10% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,688 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 5,788 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
MEM → CLT flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 85.7% of the time, against 66.4% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 19.3 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 89.1% on time from 975 flights
- 6 AM: 84.3% on time from 121 flights
- 7 AM: 81.1% on time from 927 flights
- 8 AM: 91.6% on time from 208 flights
- 9 AM: 89.5% on time from 427 flights
- 10 AM: 80.8% on time from 466 flights
- 11 AM: 82.6% on time from 551 flights
- 12 PM to 1 PM: too few flights to score
- 2 PM: 73.4% on time from 680 flights
- 3 PM: 74.4% on time from 261 flights
- 4 PM to 5 PM: too few flights to score
- 6 PM: 64.8% on time from 591 flights
- 7 PM: 70.1% on time from 298 flights
- 8 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why MEM → CLT runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
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 MEM → CLT. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 5,021 | 81.2% | 1.29% | -7 min | 6.9% |
| PSA Airlines | 765 | 71.7% | 3.79% | -2 min | 10.7% |
American Airlines flew 86.8% of the 5,786 flights listed. PSA Airlines cancelled 3.79% of its flights here against 1.29% for American Airlines.
American Airlines arrived on time 9.5 percentage points more often than PSA Airlines on this route.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 8.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 74.0%
- Feb: 84.1%
- Mar: 83.9%
- Apr: 82.4%
- May: 74.1%
- Jun: 77.5%
- Jul: 71.2%
- Aug: 77.2%
- Sep: 85.8%
- Oct: 86.3%
- Nov: 85.2%
- Dec: 82.1%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 15.1 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 73.4% from 173 flights
- August 2023: 74.7% from 182 flights
- September 2023: 87.0% from 162 flights
- October 2023: 82.0% from 178 flights
- November 2023: 86.0% from 172 flights
- December 2023: 82.2% from 152 flights
- January 2024: 68.3% from 148 flights
- February 2024: 87.4% from 143 flights
- March 2024: 86.4% from 155 flights
- April 2024: 78.6% from 145 flights
- May 2024: 66.3% from 181 flights
- June 2024: 81.9% from 179 flights
- July 2024: 68.4% from 183 flights
- August 2024: 74.6% from 179 flights
- September 2024: 77.8% from 155 flights
- October 2024: 87.0% from 169 flights
- November 2024: 86.6% from 149 flights
- December 2024: 80.2% from 172 flights
- January 2025: 73.6% from 151 flights
- February 2025: 82.4% from 135 flights
- March 2025: 82.9% from 155 flights
- April 2025: 84.2% from 144 flights
- May 2025: 74.7% from 182 flights
- June 2025: 69.3% from 155 flights
- July 2025: 75.7% from 147 flights
- August 2025: 82.8% from 158 flights
- September 2025: 93.8% from 128 flights
- October 2025: 90.7% from 151 flights
- November 2025: 83.0% from 153 flights
- December 2025: 84.1% from 145 flights
- January 2026: 81.1% from 144 flights
- February 2026: 82.1% from 128 flights
- March 2026: 82.3% from 145 flights
- April 2026: 84.6% from 149 flights
- May 2026: 83.1% from 143 flights
- June 2026: 80.6% from 147 flights
- July 2026: 67.8% from 151 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 82.9% against 79.0% in the 12 months before — improving by 3.9 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 5,788 MEM → CLT 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