Route profile
PHX→ATL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Phoenix to Atlanta, 1,587 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 77% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 11,400 flights. How this is calculated
PHX → ATL arrives on time 83.0% of the time; the return trip, ATL → PHX, arrives on time 76.7% of the time, a 6.3-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
PHX → ATL spends 23.5 minutes on the ground on a 1,587-mile trip: 14.5 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at PHX and 9.0 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 92% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 87.7% of the time, against 68.8% 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 PHX → ATL flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
PHX → ATL cancelled 76 of 11,400 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 150. The reason filed most often was the airline, 51.3% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 292 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 76 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
39 cancellations, 51.3% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
35 cancellations, 46.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
2 cancellations, 2.6% 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.
76 coded cancellations were recorded on PHX → ATL; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
32 min late
against a median of 7 min early
Percentiles over 11,400 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at ATL after arriving from PHX.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 33% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 16% | High risk |
| 60 min | 10% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 5.4% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.4% | 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 0.67% of the time and diverts 0.32% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 11,287 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 32 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 11,400 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
PHX → ATL flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 90.7% of the time, against 62.6% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 28.1 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (PHX).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 6.7 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 1.7 points.
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 68–71
- 72–75
- 76–79
- 80–83
- 84–87
- 88–91
- 92–95
- 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 before 6 AM (248 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 | 94.1% on time193 flights | 95.1% on time144 flights | 93.7% on time144 flights | 92.7% on time164 flights | 93.9% on time186 flights | 92.9% on time184 flights | 94.8% on time199 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 89.1% on time189 flights | 93.8% on time161 flights | 91.3% on time162 flights | 89.9% on time169 flights | 90.5% on time194 flights | 87.8% on time189 flights | 91.1% on time195 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 91 flights, too few to score | 76 flights, too few to score | 80 flights, too few to score | 87 flights, too few to score | 87 flights, too few to score | 72 flights, too few to score | 103 flights, too few to score |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 85 flights, too few to score | 101 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 83 flights, too few to score | 81 flights, too few to score | 81 flights, too few to score | 85 flights, too few to score |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 84.7% on time132 flights | 84.5% on time144 flights | 90.5% on time148 flights | 87.0% on time138 flights | 82.8% on time138 flights | 87.1% on time142 flights | 82.6% on time124 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 72 flights, too few to score | 66 flights, too few to score | 66 flights, too few to score | 65 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 72 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 72 flights, too few to score | 57 flights, too few to score | 74 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 41 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 79.1% on time140 flights | 116 flights, too few to score | 79.3% on time136 flights | 84.3% on time135 flights | 76.4% on time143 flights | 79.3% on time139 flights | 75.6% on time132 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 85 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score | 68 flights, too few to score | 86 flights, too few to score | 95 flights, too few to score | 55 flights, too few to score | 75 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 77.7% on time150 flights | 81.1% on time123 flights | 79.3% on time136 flights | 71.4% on time150 flights | 78.0% on time141 flights | 112 flights, too few to score | 76.5% on time153 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 77.1% on time131 flights | 99 flights, too few to score | 115 flights, too few to score | 75.2% on time137 flights | 74.8% on time131 flights | 74.8% on time128 flights | 71.7% on time142 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 42 flights, too few to score | 30 flights, too few to score | 27 flights, too few to score | 39 flights, too few to score | 43 flights, too few to score | 37 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 23 flights, too few to score | 33 flights, too few to score | 26 flights, too few to score | 23 flights, too few to score | 23 flights, too few to score | 30 flights, too few to score | 47 flights, too few to score |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 15 flights, too few to score | 1 flight, too few to score | 1 flight, too few to score | 6 flights, too few to score | 7 flights, too few to score | 1 flight, too few to score | 11 flights, too few to score |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 3 flights, too few to score | 3 flights, too few to score | 4 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 3 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 2 flights, too few to score |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 3 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 47 flights, too few to score | 42 flights, too few to score | 42 flights, too few to score | 43 flights, too few to score | 43 flights, too few to score | 40 flights, too few to score | 48 flights, too few to score |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 87.1% on time213 flights | 88.5% on time200 flights | 85.6% on time210 flights | 81.6% on time208 flights | 85.3% on time215 flights | 84.5% on time209 flights | 80.9% on time209 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 93.7% on time from 210 flights
- 6 AM: 93.9% on time from 1,214 flights
- 7 AM: 90.4% on time from 1,259 flights
- 8 AM: 84.0% on time from 596 flights
- 9 AM: 77.3% on time from 612 flights
- 10 AM: 85.7% on time from 966 flights
- 11 AM: 84.5% on time from 466 flights
- 12 PM: 78.0% on time from 411 flights
- 1 PM: 79.9% on time from 941 flights
- 2 PM: 79.0% on time from 528 flights
- 3 PM: 76.7% on time from 965 flights
- 4 PM: 76.3% on time from 883 flights
- 5 PM: 70.7% on time from 277 flights
- 6 PM: 62.4% on time from 205 flights
- 7 PM to 9 PM: too few flights to score
- 10 PM: 86.3% on time from 305 flights
- 11 PM: 84.8% on time from 1,464 flights
Why PHX → ATL 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 PHX → ATL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
Bad weather raises cancellations by a similar amount at both ends of PHX to ATL: 3.9 times the normal rate at PHX and 3.3 times at ATL. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: PHX 2.5% against 0.6%, ATL 3.4% against 1.0%. Flights that did leave PHX in bad weather arrived on time 53.7% of the time, against 80.6% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | PHX | ATL |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 2.5% | 3.4% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.6% | 1.0% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 53.7% | 66.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 80.6% | 80.2% |
| Departures in bad weather | 6,215 | 105,854 |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from PHX and ATL, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad.
Weather source and limits. In full: PHX, 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 | 6,942 | 87.7% | 0.85% | -9 min | 4.2% |
| American Airlines | 2,038 | 75.3% | 0.39% | -5 min | 8.8% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,808 | 78.4% | 0.17% | -2 min | 5.1% |
| Frontier Airlines | 612 | 68.8% | 0.98% | 1 min | 10.1% |
Delta Air Lines flew 60.9% of the 11,400 flights listed.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 18.9 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
DL918 (6:00 AM) arrived on time 94.8% of the time, 9.2 points more often than DL929 (11:59 PM) at 85.6%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 5.4 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 84.1%
- Feb: 88.8%
- Mar: 82.4%
- Apr: 85.0%
- May: 79.9%
- Jun: 77.2%
- Jul: 72.3%
- Aug: 85.3%
- Sep: 87.9%
- Oct: 86.3%
- Nov: 85.7%
- Dec: 85.3%
July is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 16.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 69.9% from 284 flights
- August 2023: 85.8% from 292 flights
- September 2023: 91.0% from 290 flights
- October 2023: 84.3% from 299 flights
- November 2023: 89.5% from 296 flights
- December 2023: 87.8% from 321 flights
- January 2024: 83.3% from 275 flights
- February 2024: 91.5% from 259 flights
- March 2024: 81.5% from 335 flights
- April 2024: 87.7% from 349 flights
- May 2024: 78.8% from 337 flights
- June 2024: 78.2% from 308 flights
- July 2024: 67.0% from 311 flights
- August 2024: 83.2% from 299 flights
- September 2024: 87.3% from 286 flights
- October 2024: 88.9% from 315 flights
- November 2024: 89.3% from 300 flights
- December 2024: 86.4% from 311 flights
- January 2025: 82.3% from 269 flights
- February 2025: 88.2% from 254 flights
- March 2025: 87.8% from 365 flights
- April 2025: 81.0% from 349 flights
- May 2025: 84.5% from 331 flights
- June 2025: 75.2% from 314 flights
- July 2025: 83.8% from 317 flights
- August 2025: 87.0% from 301 flights
- September 2025: 85.3% from 292 flights
- October 2025: 85.6% from 322 flights
- November 2025: 78.8% from 322 flights
- December 2025: 81.8% from 332 flights
- January 2026: 86.6% from 286 flights
- February 2026: 86.8% from 257 flights
- March 2026: 77.4% from 351 flights
- April 2026: 86.3% from 357 flights
- May 2026: 76.6% from 339 flights
- June 2026: 78.1% from 288 flights
- July 2026: 67.3% from 287 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 81.4% against 84.8% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.4 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 11,400 PHX → 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