Biting your nails over holiday travel? In what's anticipated to be the busiest holiday travel season in history, your worries may be justified.
Before checking into your flight, it may be a comfort (or lack thereof) to know the likelihood of the flight getting delayed. Travel rewards website Upgraded Points ran some data to track the likelihood of flight delays on various U.S.-based airlines and out of the 100 busiest airports.
To look at holiday flight delay rates, Upgraded Points used on-time performance info from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation collected over the holiday season over the last decade. Using data on delayed departures and arrivals between December 14 and January 5, 2014 to 2022, the analysis can predict which airports and airlines may have the most delays this season.
"We're always looking to help travelers during the hectic holidays," said Keri Stooksbury, Editor-in-Chief of Upgraded Points. "Understanding which airports and airlines have historically experienced more delays can help you anticipate travel hiccups and increase your overall holiday happiness."
Frontier Airlines came out on top with the most delayed departures at a rate of 31.9%, but Southwest Airlines wasn't too far behind, with a rate of 31.8%. JetBlue at 30.8% delayed flights, Allegiant Air with 29.2%, and Spirit Airlines with 28.1% all made the top five.
And while you can choose your airline, you often can't choose your airport.
Historically, Texas' El Paso International Airport (ELP) has the highest rate of departure delays, at a rate of 32.78%. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) comes in second with 30.67%, followed by Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) at 30.56%, San Antonio International Airport (SAT) at 30.33% and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) at 30.22%. Houston, we may have a problem, because flying out of Texas isn't looking to timely.