Route profile
RSW→BOS
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Myers to Boston, 1,249 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 6,723 flights. How this is calculated
RSW → BOS arrives on time 71.9% of the time; the return trip, BOS → RSW, arrives on time 71.2% of the time.
RSW → BOS spends 25.0 minutes on the ground on a 1,249-mile trip: 16.3 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at RSW and 8.7 minutes from touchdown to gate at BOS.
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 5 min early, but the worst tenth run 76 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 RSW to BOS differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
RSW to BOS struggles most at 1 PM: 58.3% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 16.8 points behind the 75.1% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 18.8 points.
RSW to BOS is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 8 AM: 91.8% arrive on time, 5.9 points ahead of the 85.9% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 5.9 points.
Thursday is the day RSW to BOS slips furthest against routes of similar length, 68.9% on time where they average 76.0%, 7.1 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 7.9 points.
In February, RSW to BOS runs 11.6 points below routes of similar length, 68.9% on time to 80.5%. Against all other routes the gap is 12.6 points.
Delta Air Lines’ flights on RSW to BOS arrive on time 76.3% of the time, 4.8 points below the 81.1% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 5.2 points.
RSW to BOS against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 1 PM departures | 58.3% | routes of similar length | 75.1% | −16.8 pts | 199 here, 103,418 there |
| Hour: 8 AM departures | 91.8% | routes of similar length | 85.9% | +5.9 pts | 195 here, 129,629 there |
| Weekday: Thursday | 68.9% | routes of similar length | 76.0% | −7.1 pts | 966 here, 279,582 there |
| Month: February | 68.9% | routes of similar length | 80.5% | −11.6 pts | 729 here, 142,641 there |
| Airline: Delta Air Lines | 76.3% | routes of similar length | 81.1% | −4.8 pts | 1,704 here, 365,873 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 1,249 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 RSW → BOS flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
RSW → BOS cancelled 146 of 6,723 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 46. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 56.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 82 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 146 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, 56.2% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
44 cancellations, 30.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
20 cancellations, 13.7% 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.
146 coded cancellations were recorded on RSW → BOS; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
71 min late
against a median of 5 min early
RSW → BOS has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 5 min early, but the worst tenth are 76 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 6,723 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at BOS after arriving from RSW.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 42% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 28% | High risk |
| 60 min | 20% | High risk |
| 90 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 7.3% | 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 2.17% of the time and diverts 0.13% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 6,568 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 6,723 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
RSW → BOS flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.4% of the time, against 58.6% for 3–6 PM departures, a gap of 32.8 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 91.1% on time from 540 flights
- 7 AM: 91.5% on time from 359 flights
- 8 AM: 91.8% on time from 203 flights
- 9 AM: 89.2% on time from 132 flights
- 10 AM: 79.7% on time from 725 flights
- 11 AM: 77.1% on time from 1,202 flights
- 12 PM: 64.9% on time from 466 flights
- 1 PM: 58.3% on time from 200 flights
- 2 PM: 64.4% on time from 199 flights
- 3 PM: 59.1% on time from 293 flights
- 4 PM: 60.8% on time from 173 flights
- 5 PM: 57.4% on time from 407 flights
- 6 PM: 66.3% on time from 400 flights
- 7 PM: 61.3% on time from 676 flights
- 8 PM: 59.9% on time from 649 flights
- 9 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why RSW → BOS 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 RSW → BOS. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on RSW → BOS, at 45.3%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 91.4% of the time and 3–6 PM departures 58.6%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue | 4,376 | 70.2% | 2.38% | -3 min | 13.2% |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,728 | 76.3% | 1.22% | -8 min | 8.9% |
| Spirit Airlines | 613 | 71.6% | 3.43% | -8 min | 11.8% |
JetBlue flew 65.1% of the 6,717 flights listed. Spirit Airlines cancelled 3.43% of its flights here against 1.22% for Delta Air Lines.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 6.1 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 9.0 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 72.0%
- Feb: 68.9%
- Mar: 67.3%
- Apr: 79.5%
- May: 71.1%
- Jun: 72.5%
- Jul: 61.1%
- Aug: 72.3%
- Sep: 72.7%
- Oct: 76.3%
- Nov: 81.0%
- Dec: 69.3%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 19.9 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: too few flights to score (89)
- August 2023: too few flights to score (87)
- September 2023: too few flights to score (89)
- October 2023: too few flights to score (98)
- November 2023: 81.4% from 140 flights
- December 2023: 76.1% from 187 flights
- January 2024: 66.8% from 206 flights
- February 2024: 69.4% from 237 flights
- March 2024: 72.6% from 273 flights
- April 2024: 79.6% from 249 flights
- May 2024: 66.2% from 158 flights
- June 2024: too few flights to score (118)
- July 2024: 60.2% from 122 flights
- August 2024: too few flights to score (116)
- September 2024: too few flights to score (119)
- October 2024: 87.0% from 143 flights
- November 2024: 82.7% from 208 flights
- December 2024: 66.4% from 270 flights
- January 2025: 78.3% from 243 flights
- February 2025: 72.6% from 289 flights
- March 2025: 69.3% from 328 flights
- April 2025: 85.5% from 289 flights
- May 2025: 68.9% from 180 flights
- June 2025: 65.4% from 138 flights
- July 2025: 66.0% from 153 flights
- August 2025: too few flights to score (119)
- September 2025: too few flights to score (109)
- October 2025: 64.0% from 127 flights
- November 2025: 78.7% from 181 flights
- December 2025: 67.3% from 231 flights
- January 2026: 69.0% from 179 flights
- February 2026: 63.6% from 239 flights
- March 2026: 60.8% from 326 flights
- April 2026: 73.7% from 299 flights
- May 2026: 77.4% from 186 flights
- June 2026: too few flights to score (105)
- July 2026: too few flights to score (93)
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 70.2% against 74.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.9 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 6,723 RSW → BOS 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