Airlines › United Airlines
Reporting carrier · 12 months to July 2026
United Airlines: on-time performance
BTS: A flight is counted as on time if it arrived less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time. Only carriers with at least 0.5 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue report. Data through July 2026.
In the 12 months to July 2026, United Airlines (BTS code UA) reported 825,693 scheduled domestic flights across 1,065 routes and 134 airports.
78.2% of its flights arrived on time, 2.2 points above the 76.0% recorded for all reporting carriers together. 1.0% were cancelled (all carriers: 1.8%) and 0.3% diverted; flights that arrived were 6.3 min late on average.
Its busiest airports by departures are Denver (DEN, 13% of departures), Chicago (ORD, 12% of departures) and Houston (IAH, 9% of departures).
The on-time share is down 1.0 points on the previous 12 months (79.2%); the cancellation share moved from 0.9% to 1.0%.
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category on its flights, late-arriving aircraft 36%, national aviation system 34% and air carrier 26%.
- On time 78.2%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 20.5%
- Cancelled 1.0%
- Diverted 0.3%
Against all reporting carriers
| Measure | United Airlines | All reporting carriers | UA, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrived on time | 78.2% | 76.0% | 79.2% |
| Departed on time | 80.6% | 76.1% | 81.1% |
| Arrived 15+ minutes late | 20.5% | 21.9% | 19.6% |
| Cancelled | 1.0% | 1.8% | 0.9% |
| Diverted | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Average arrival delay | 6.3 min | 8.1 min | 5.6 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,560 | 1,684 | 1,513 |
| Scheduled flights | 825,693 | 7,043,858 | 780,969 |
By on-time share, United Airlines is 4 of 13 reporting carriers in the 12 months to July 2026; the full table is on the airline on-time ranking. Year on year: −1.0 pts on time.
Month by month
Busiest airports
| Airport | Departures | Share of carrier | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled | Airport, all carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN Denver | 107,510 | 13% | 78.6% | 6.2 min | 0.4% | 76.1% |
| ORD Chicago | 100,681 | 12.2% | 72.6% | 12.0 min | 1.4% | 69.4% |
| IAH Houston | 74,382 | 9% | 79.4% | 4.5 min | 0.6% | 77.6% |
| EWR Newark | 68,102 | 8.2% | 75.2% | 7.1 min | 2.1% | 75.3% |
| SFO San Francisco | 61,465 | 7.4% | 80.1% | 2.8 min | 0.5% | 75.6% |
| IAD Washington | 36,755 | 4.5% | 81.6% | 3.0 min | 0.9% | 80.1% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 29,389 | 3.6% | 82.3% | 0.6 min | 0.5% | 79.0% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 15,135 | 1.8% | 79.6% | 3.3 min | 0.6% | 76.8% |
| MCO Orlando | 15,073 | 1.8% | 80.3% | 4.9 min | 1.1% | 73.0% |
| BOS Boston | 12,960 | 1.6% | 77.0% | 6.6 min | 1.9% | 73.3% |
| AUS Austin | 10,876 | 1.3% | 78.8% | 7.0 min | 1.2% | 75.5% |
| SAN San Diego | 10,567 | 1.3% | 79.8% | 3.9 min | 0.7% | 76.1% |
| PHX Phoenix | 10,082 | 1.2% | 79.9% | 6.9 min | 0.8% | 77.4% |
| DFW Dallas/Fort Worth | 9,986 | 1.2% | 74.6% | 12.8 min | 1.7% | 69.9% |
| LGA New York | 9,066 | 1.1% | 70.1% | 14.6 min | 3.0% | 69.9% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 8,978 | 1.1% | 81.4% | 3.5 min | 1.1% | 68.9% |
| CLE Cleveland | 8,866 | 1.1% | 83.7% | 2.5 min | 0.9% | 77.7% |
| SEA Seattle | 8,748 | 1.1% | 79.2% | 4.6 min | 0.8% | 78.6% |
| TPA Tampa | 8,625 | 1% | 81.1% | 3.6 min | 0.8% | 76.9% |
| ATL Atlanta | 7,595 | 0.9% | 78.7% | 7.8 min | 1.5% | 76.6% |
| DCA Washington | 6,887 | 0.8% | 77.1% | 7.6 min | 1.6% | 70.1% |
| BNA Nashville | 6,844 | 0.8% | 75.8% | 11.7 min | 1.4% | 74.4% |
| MIA Miami | 6,821 | 0.8% | 77.1% | 8.1 min | 1.0% | 72.3% |
| MSY New Orleans | 6,807 | 0.8% | 83.4% | 1.3 min | 0.7% | 76.9% |
| PDX Portland | 6,627 | 0.8% | 80.7% | 2.4 min | 0.6% | 82.0% |
The 25 airports with the most UA departures of 134 served. On time means the flight reached its destination less than 15 minutes late; the pill is green when the carrier is at or above the figure for all carriers' departures from that airport (last column).
Busiest routes
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA–ORD | New York to Chicago | 4,665 | 64.4% | 22.3 min | 4.1% |
| ORD–LGA | Chicago to New York | 4,665 | 64.4% | 20.1 min | 3.8% |
| ORD–EWR | Chicago to Newark | 4,391 | 70.1% | 17.0 min | 2.6% |
| EWR–ORD | Newark to Chicago | 4,389 | 69.4% | 16.0 min | 2.5% |
| IAH–ORD | Houston to Chicago | 4,048 | 77.6% | 7.8 min | 0.7% |
| ORD–IAH | Chicago to Houston | 4,040 | 79.3% | 3.0 min | 0.7% |
| EWR–MCO | Newark to Orlando | 4,016 | 77.7% | 4.2 min | 2.1% |
| MCO–EWR | Orlando to Newark | 4,016 | 76.5% | 10.8 min | 2.3% |
| DEN–IAH | Denver to Houston | 3,899 | 79.0% | 5.3 min | 0.3% |
| IAH–DEN | Houston to Denver | 3,899 | 82.1% | 2.1 min | 0.3% |
| SFO–ORD | San Francisco to Chicago | 3,830 | 76.5% | 6.8 min | 0.9% |
| ORD–SFO | Chicago to San Francisco | 3,828 | 69.1% | 15.4 min | 1.1% |
| EWR–SFO | Newark to San Francisco | 3,825 | 66.5% | 21.0 min | 2.5% |
| SFO–EWR | San Francisco to Newark | 3,822 | 73.1% | 8.8 min | 2.2% |
| ORD–DEN | Chicago to Denver | 3,816 | 78.0% | 7.4 min | 0.9% |
| DEN–ORD | Denver to Chicago | 3,815 | 71.3% | 16.3 min | 0.8% |
| IAH–SFO | Houston to San Francisco | 3,598 | 77.7% | 4.1 min | 0.5% |
| SFO–IAH | San Francisco to Houston | 3,598 | 83.9% | 0.3 min | 0.3% |
| EWR–LAX | Newark to Los Angeles | 3,539 | 71.1% | 13.4 min | 1.9% |
| LAX–EWR | Los Angeles to Newark | 3,538 | 76.1% | 4.0 min | 1.8% |
| EWR–IAH | Newark to Houston | 3,534 | 79.7% | 1.1 min | 1.6% |
| IAH–EWR | Houston to Newark | 3,534 | 73.1% | 10.6 min | 1.5% |
| IAH–LAX | Houston to Los Angeles | 3,439 | 84.6% | -1.1 min | 0.3% |
| LAX–IAH | Los Angeles to Houston | 3,438 | 87.1% | -2.4 min | 0.2% |
| DEN–SFO | Denver to San Francisco | 3,412 | 70.0% | 11.8 min | 0.2% |
The 25 routes with the most UA flights of 1,065 flown. Figures are for this carrier's flights only; the route pages compare every carrier on the route.
By scheduled departure hour
Delay causes and cancellations
Cancellations by reported reason (8,510 in the period): air carrier 21%, weather 68%, national aviation system 11%, security 0%.
Questions and answers
What is United Airlines's on-time performance?
78.2% of 825,693 scheduled domestic flights in the 12 months to July 2026 arrived less than 15 minutes late. All reporting carriers together recorded 76.0%.
How often does United Airlines cancel flights?
1.0% of its scheduled domestic flights were cancelled in the period, against 1.8% for all reporting carriers.
What causes United Airlines delays?
For flights that arrived 15 or more minutes late, the carrier attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 36%, national aviation system 34%, air carrier 26%, extreme weather 4%, security 0%. Carriers assign these categories themselves under BTS rules.
At which airports does United Airlines have its highest on-time share?
Among its 25 busiest airports with at least 600 departures, flights leaving Cleveland (CLE) had the highest on-time arrival share at 83.7%, and those leaving New York (LGA) the lowest at 70.1%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share?
Its flights scheduled to depart from 6 am to 7 am local time arrived on time 89.8% of the time; those scheduled from 6 pm to 7 pm did so 67.3% of the time.
Is it getting better?
The on-time share for the 12 months to July 2026 was 78.2%, down 1.0 points on the previous 12 months (79.2%).
Why are some airlines missing?
Only carriers with at least 0.5 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue must report on-time data to BTS. Smaller carriers, charter operators and foreign airlines are not in the files, and flights to or from other countries are not covered.
Provenance
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987 to present), monthly files August 2023 to July 2026; carrier name from the BTS unique carrier lookup. US government works in the public domain. The carrier code is the BTS reporting-carrier code, which identifies the company that operated the flight, not the brand it was sold under. Totals and averages only. See the methodology and which airlines report.