Best & worst US airlines for hour-long delays: Minimize your disruption risk in 2026

Learn the US airlines to use or avoid in 2026 based on one-hour+ delays. AirAdvisor Air Data explores the 60-minute+ delay rates and average delay times.

Amy Lancelotte

By:  Amy Lancelotte

Last Updated:  25 June 2026

TL;DR

• The worst US-based airline for delays of one hour or more is Frontier Airlines.
• The best US carrier for 60-minute+ delays is Southwest Airlines.
• Final scores are based on 2 metrics: frequency of delays of 60 minutes or more (LD60+) and the average delay time.
• All information comes from AirAdvisor AirData from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025.
• The 3 worst US airlines for 60-minute+ delays are a mix of smaller, ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) and major national carriers.

Jump to the ranking

If you could choose your airline to minimize your chances of a delay of an hour or more, would you? We think so. That’s why we’ve taken on the task of ranking the USA’s major airlines for 60-minute+ delays. 

Our AirData mainly examines 60-minute+ delay frequency and average delay times. We also look at commonly delayed routes and the time of day when delays happen the most. Use this info to book your next flight with more confidence, or at least prepare for a longer delay.

Methodology

Using AirAdvisor AirData from America’s 9 largest airlines from January 1 to December 31, 2025, we reviewed:

• LD60+rate, which is the total annual 60+ minute arrival delays, expressed as a percentage of total annual flights (70% of score).
• Delay time, which is the average delay time in minutes for flights by the airline that meet the one-hour delay threshold (30% of score).

In all cases with the data, higher numbers are worse. They indicate a higher frequency of LD60+ and delay time. Each airline received a rank out of 9 for both metrics, which became the point value (9= best, low; 1 = worst, high). The scores are weighted to favor the likelihood of delays, with secondary consideration given to the average wait time.

Key findings

• The longest average wait time for flights delayed by at least one hour is with American Airlines at 140.78 minutes (almost 2.5 hours).
• The highest LD60+ rate belongs to Frontier Airlines (9.41%).
• The best US airline for delays is Southwest: LD60+ rate of 4.3% and delay time of 113.77 minutes, which is less than 2 hours.
• On average, flights with these 9 US airlines are delayed one hour or more 6.5% of the time and for 128.48 minutes (just over 2 hours).
• The majority of delays occur during the day. To limit the chances of delays, choose morning, evening, or night flights.

Ranking of the 9 major US airlines for 60-minute+ delays (worst to best)

The 3 worst US airlines for 60-minute+ delays

#1

Frontier Airlines – worst overall

Frontier is the overall worst US airline for 60-minute+ delays and is the first of 3 budget carriers that top our list.

• In 2025, 9.41% of Frontier’s flights were delayed by at least 60 minutes – no airline had a higher rate.
• The average LD60+ delay time is among the highest in the group – 138.79 minutes (well over 2 hours).
• Frontier’s route with the most 60-minute+ delays goes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to New York LaGuardia. The LD60+ rate on this trip is 24.6%.
• Any US airline you pick will have a better score than Frontier. For discount carriers, try JetBlue and Southwest for lower chances of long delays.

#2

Allegiant Air

The second-worst US airline for LD60+ is Allegiant Air, another ultra-low-cost airline. Allegiant operates the fewest annual flights of the major airlines we reviewed.

• Allegiant’s LD60+ rate is 8.68%, marginally lower than that of Frontier.
• The average LD60+ delay time is also marginally lower than that of Frontier at 137.71 minutes.
• The most delayed Allegiant route (16.9%) is from McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. American Airlines also offers this same route without the high frequency of delays, so that’s routinely a better choice.

#3

American Airlines – worst major international carrier

The third-worst US airline for hour+ delays is American Airlines, a change from the first 2 spots made up of discount airlines.

• American Airlines has the longest average wait times once a delay crosses the 1-hour threshold. The average is 140.78 minutes, which is well over 2 hours.
• On a more positive note, AA’s LD60+ rate is 5.54%, significantly lower than Frontier’s. 
• The most common airports for American Airlines' hour-long delays are New York LaGuardia and Dallas-Fort Worth.
• If you’re worried about being stuck a long time at the airport, any airline is a better choice for hour-long delays than American.

The best US airline for 60-minute+ delays – Southwest

Southwest

Southwest is the best-performing US airline when it comes to hour-long delays. 

• Only 4.3% of the airline’s flights are delayed by an hour or more. This is less than half the rate of all 3 of the worst US airlines on our list.
• When an hour-long delay happens, the average wait time is also the lowest in our study at 113.77 minutes (just under 2 hours).
• The most 60-minute+ delayed Southwest route is from Dallas Love Field (DAL) to LaGuardia (LGA) – 16.9% LD60+ rate.
• When you want to decrease your chances of both a long delay and the average delay time, Southwest is by far the best US airline.

How to use these rankings when booking flights in 2026

Our AirData analysis helps passengers evaluate delay risk when choosing US-based airlines. Here’s how to use it to your advantage:

1. Prioritize low LD60+ rates for time-sensitive travel.

When your itinerary simply can’t handle a long delay, fly with the more reliable airlines like Southwest, Hawaiian, and United. That way, you have a better chance of making the cruise, wedding, or meeting on time.

2. Price isn’t everything.

The 3 worst US airlines for 60-minute+ delays are all low-cost carriers. While they might save you money on your initial fare, you can lose money by missing tour packages, subsequent flights, or even work days because of the higher disruption rates.

3. Choose low delay rates over low delay length.

Ideally, you want a low LD60+ rate and average delay time, but that’s not always possible. When in doubt, focus on delay frequency, because if the flight isn’t delayed in the first place, the average delay time won’t matter.

4. Plan for possible delays.

No matter what airline you choose, delays are a possibility. Keep everything important with you and leave plenty of time between connections. Always arrive for a cruise the day before, leave a minimum of 2 hours between flight connections, and book flexible or refundable tours and packages.

5. Avoid daytime flights.

Flights with all US airlines are most likely to be delayed by an hour or more during the day. Choose nighttime, morning, or evening flights before daytime ones.

6. Know your flight delay compensation rights.

When a flight involving the UK or the EU is delayed by 3 hours or more, passengers are often entitled to compensation. Plus, US airlines have internal policies that cover food and drinks, communication, and even hotel and transportation, depending on the length of the delay.

Data use rights

AirAdvisor publishes AirData insights based on aggregated flight performance data analyzed for consumer information purposes. Journalists, researchers, and industry professionals are welcome to reference these findings with attribution. Please cite the source as: “Data source: AirAdvisor AirData” and include a link to the original page where the data appears. The full dataset is available upon request.

For media inquiries, data clarifications, or reuse permissions beyond citation, please contact press@airadvisor.com.

FAQs

Why is the LD60+ rate used?

Looking only at the total number of 60+ minute delays would skew the results toward larger airlines that operate more flights. Using a rate instead gives a clearer picture of how likely an airline is to experience a delay of at least 60 minutes. 

What time of day has the most delays?

With US airlines, the majority of 60+ minute delays (42%) happen during the day. Morning and evening flights each account for 28% of total LD60+ instances. The lowest long delay frequency is at night (2% of all hour+ delayed flights).

How often is the AirAdvisor AirData updated?

To stay up to date, we refresh the AirData daily.

Press highlights

• Frontier is the overall worst US airline for 60-minute+ delays; Southwest is the best.
• The majority of hour-long delays occur during the day.
• American Airlines has the highest average long delay of 2.3 hours.

Using 2 metrics, we ranked the USA’s 9 largest airlines for 60-minute+ delays. First, we used the LD60+ rate (70% of score), which is the total 60+ minute delayed flights as a percentage of all flights. Then, we used the average delay length in minutes for those flights delayed by at least 60 minutes. We ranked each airline out of 9, where 1 was the worst performer and 9 was the best.

The complete data set is available on request.

Source: AirAdvisor AirData analysis of 163,709 delayed flights from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, measuring LD60+ arrival delay instances and average delay wait time.

Author:

Amy Lancelotte

Job/Position: Senior Writer & Content Creator

Amy Lancelotte is a Senior Content Writer and editorial contributor at AirAdvisor with more than seven years of experience producing research-driven articles for global audiences. Her work focuses on travel, aviation, and air passenger rights, with an emphasis on factual accuracy, verified data, and clear, reader-first explanations.

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