m. Worst Time Window: 5–9 p.m.7% PDX was the winner in 2007 and has been the bridesmaid at No. 4 showing on the Best Airport list. 9.m. 2 ever since.m. Best Time Window: Before 10 a.m. Advertisement 21 of 21 Douglas Coulter 10 Worst No. 4 Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) Flights Delayed: 21. Best Time Window: Before 6 a. Worst Time Window: 5–11 p. 4. Best Time Window: Before 8 a. 1 worst slot from 2009 to reach a more respectable No.m. 10 FortLauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) Flights Delayed: 19.m. BWI might hang its head even more knowing that neighbor Reagan National shames it with the No.m. Advertisement 18 of 21 Courtesy of The Port Authority of NY & NJ 10 Worst No. 1 Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) Flights Delayed: 26.m. Best Time Window: Before 8 a.m. 6 Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Flights Delayed: 15% For all the bad karma that the huge Los Angeles hub seems to suffer, you can’t argue with its consistently improving performance.C., while the tendency to run late is much higher after 5 p.m. Worst Time Window: 7–9 p. Advertisement 11 of 21 Don Wilson/Courtesy of Port of Seattle 10 Best No. Every year, Travel + Leisure gathers numbers from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to find the best—and worst—airports for on-time performance.m. 3 among least-delayed airports, while the drizzle-vulnerable SFO was No.m. 2 or No. San Diego has stayed in the top 5 since 2006 and has even improved from a 17 percent chance of delays in 2009. Advertisement 8 of 21 Michael Bell 10 Best No. So for each city in our Top 10s, we pinpointed the time of day when you have a 90 percent or better chance of leaving on time—as well as the time of day when your chances, shall we say, drop significantly. Worst Time Window: 5–10 p.7% Maybe it’s that reliably mild weather.m.m.: Reagan National (DCA) Flights Delayed: 12. Here’s hoping you packed a coat that can be rolled into a pillow. This year, Salt Lake City was No. Best Time Window: Before 10 a. 6 San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Flights Delayed: 20.5% The much-maligned O’Hare can be proud—kind of. At all the airports, on-performance is highest before 9 or 10 a. Best Time Window: Before 9 a. Worst Time Window: 5–9 p.9% The North Carolina airport likes to keep you guessing: it’s been on both the best and worst lists in the past few years but is making good by returning to the least-delayed Top 10. 3. 2 Portland International Airport (PDX) Flights Delayed: 10. 2 Miami International Airport (MIA) Flights Delayed: 25.m. How bad can it get? O’Hare’s neighbor, Midway, had an alarming 100 percent chance of departing late by 10 p. Is that any comfort when you still have a 1 in 4 chance of being delayed? Best Time Window: Before 7 a. Best Time Window: Before 8 a. Worst Time Window: 6–8 p. Worst Time Window: 5–8 p. The good news: overall, even the worst airports are doing a little better. But who’s complaining? Best Time Window: Before 10 a. Worst Time Window: 4–9 p. Best Time Window: Before 9 a. Advertisement 12 of 21 Courtesy of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport 10 Worst No. Only two of the most-delayed airports make you wait more than 25 percent of the time.2% Poor Miami.
Best Time Window: Before 9 a. Best Time Window: Before 9 a. 3 worst slot for three years now, but just manages to avoid the distinction of being the absolute worst of the lot.October 25, 2011 1 of 21 Don Wilson/Courtesy of Port of Seattle The good news? Airports are doing better at avoiding delays. It ranked No. 5 San Diego International Airport (SAN) Flights Delayed: 14. The airport has held onto the No. 3 Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) Flights Delayed: 12% Oh, how the mighty have fallen—well, not really.m.m. Advertisement 17 of 21 Courtesy of Baltimore/Washington International Airport 10 Worst No. Advertisement 19 of 21 Johann Napp 10 Worst No. There are ways for you to improve your on-time odds at any airport too—by choosing the right departures. 10 in 2008 and has improved its on-time record by 6 percentage points too. Best Time Window: Before 9 a.9% Ranking No.m. Best Time Window: Before 7 a. 8 New York City: John F.2% Is Tampa losing track of time? Its airport is still hanging onto a Top 10 slot, but only barely, after strutting its on-time stuff at No.m. 5 Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) Flights Delayed: 21.m. Advertisement 20 of 21 Andres Romero/Miami International Airport 10 Worst No.C.m. Worst Time Window: 7 p. Worst Time Window: 6–7 p. 7 in 2009 and hit No. Everybody knows that weather can slow things down at the airport.m. Advertisement 2 of 21 David Lawrence 10 Best No.,” says New Jersey optometrist Dan Press, who has fallen into O’Hare’s notorious time warps several times over the years. The centrally located Reagan National has slipped only one spot since both 2009 and 2008, when it was No. Advertisement 4 of 21 David Neal Jr. Best Time Window: Before 9 a. The bad news: you still have to wait. Best Time Window: Before 10 a. In fact, across the board, almost every entry on the best and worst lists boosted its on-time performance scores, at least by a little. The Utah hub ranked No.m. LaGuardia, Dulles, and Philadelphia managed to get off the worst list altogether, while Houston, Charlotte, and Seattle made it back into the best Top 10 this year.6% Perhaps it’s like everything else in Washington, D.m., and especially poor (a 40–52 percent chance) from 9 to 11 p. 6 this year. “You can’t fly out of O’Hare any time past 3 p.m. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Flights Delayed: 20% While it’s no surprise that the huge New York hub is a morass of delays, the bright side is that it is doing better, working its way up from No.m. Worst Time Window: 6–11 p. 8 in 2008 to No. Advertisement 9 of 21 Michael Schoenfeld/Courtesy of Salt Lake City Department of Airports 10 Best No. Advertisement 7 of 21 Frank Rogozienski Photography/Courtesy of San Diego County Regional Airport Authority 10 Best No. It has also boosted its on-time score about 3 percentage points a year since 2008.6% After disappearing from the Top 10 in 2009, Sea-Tac makes a triumphant return, zooming to the top slot.m.m.m.” How’s that? “Even in a driving snowstorm,” he says, “the airport remains open and nearly 900 flights a day go unaffected. Worst Time Window: 9–10 p. This information, of course, is critical when you’re planning a trip or counting on making a connection. 10 Tampa International Airport (TPA) Flights Delayed: 17.6 % Phoenix boosted its on-time score from 18 percent delays in 2009 and hopped up two slots to boot.7% San Francisco’s main airport is working its way up, so to speak, to the realm of the truly bad: it climbed from No., reaching 100 percent (!) by 10 p. Advertisement 16 of 21 Alain McLaughlin/SFO Airport 10 Worst No. 8.m.m. Advertisement 6 of 21 Courtesy of Encounter Restaurant 10 Best No. 7 in 2008. Worst Time Window: 6–8 p. “The slightest rain sprinkle at San Francisco’s airport can delay flights for hours,” says Bay Area native Dan Howard. “There must be crazy weather at 20,000 feet that causes delays you can’t see or won’t even hear about on the Weather Channel,” he says. 9 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) Flights Delayed: 19. Best Time Window: Before 7 a.” According to the latest stats, Howard’s experience is pretty accurate. Advertisement 13 of 21 Courtesy of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 10 Worst No. But this year, that boost earned it only a bronze.: access is everything.m. 1 Seattle: Sea-Tac Airport (SEA) Flights Delayed: 10. But as a public relations director in Utah, Howard now frequents Salt Lake City Airport, which he describes as “magnificent in its resilience. Best Time Window: Before 8 a.m. George Bush International Airport returns to the Top 10 list for the first time since 2007. Best Time Window: Before 10 a.
Worst Time Window: 7–11 p. 4 Washington D. For some airports, though, that witching hour comes even sooner. Now you have only a 22 percent chance of being late, compared to a dismal 30 percent in 2009. (Whadda you lookin’ at?) Best Time Window: Before 8 a.m. 7 Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) Flights Delayed: 20.7% It can’t be all spring breakers running late. 7 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) Flights Delayed: 15. Advertisement 5 of 21 Courtesy of City of Phoenix Aviation Department 10 Best No.m. 3 of 21 Courtesy of Houston Airports 10 Best No. The Chicago hub went from being the second-worst airport, with a 27 percent chance of delays, to just a 22 percent chance of time standing still. 3 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Flights Delayed: 22.m.m.–midnight Advertisement
insert nut Suppliers14 of 21 Courtesy of The Port Authority of NY & NJ 10 Worst No. 8 Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) Flights Delayed: 15. Worst Time Window: Noon–4 p. Advertisement 15 of 21 Richard Yuan 10 Worst No. 8 in 2008 and 2009, Atlanta’s Hartsfield has marginally improved its performance—up from a 22 percent delay rate in 2009—but has slipped one notch to sittin’-on-the-tarmac No.m.2% If you’re going to make a return to the 10 worst list, why not do it with panache? Chicago’s Midway, which disappeared from the Top 10 in 2009 and ranked a not-so-awful 10th in 2008, wins the dubious honor of being the most likely airport to make you sit. Worst Time Window: 6–10 p. But some travelers sense that weather might also be—well, just a handy excuse. Again, it might be that weather. 6 among the pokiest. This Florida airport makes its debut on the worst-of list by doing only slightly better than famously backed-up Atlanta. Worst Time Window: 8–9 p. 4 to a less conspicuous No. 1 in both 2008 and 2009 and has even boosted its performance by nearly 4 percentage points over last year.6% Newark, unable to shake that Jersey rep, makes the worst showing of the New York City–area airports, despite improving its performance by more than 8 percentage points.m. 9 Houston: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) Flights Delayed: 16% Those Texas oilmen have endured a little sittin’ around the past few years, but no more.m.m.m. So how does BTS collect this info? The organization tracks airports by the percentage of flights that depart at least 15 minutes behind schedule (in this case, between July 2009 through June 2010).m. Worst Time Window: 6–11 p. 5 in 2009 and No..3% Rambling DFW is a stalwart of make-you-wait airports, stubbornly retaining its position in the Top 10 since 2006. Worst Time Window: 4–11 p.3% Baltimore is the only true debutante on this year’s worst list., reaching a 40 percent chance of delays by 10 p. Advertisement 10 of 21 Courtesy of Port of Portland 10 Best No. Worst Time Window: 6–10 p. Newark, for instance, climbed out of its No. To be exact, you have a 26 percent chance of shaking your fist at the flight-status monitors. 10 Best No.m.m.m
