ON TIMEBOARD

RDU → BOS on time

Raleigh-Durham (Raleigh/Durham, NC) to Boston Logan (Boston, MA). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
76%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
2.9%
2,847 flights
Typical arrival
−11 min
median vs schedule
When late
+83 min
average delay
Flights / day
8
3 airlines

76% of flights from Raleigh to Boston arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is about the typical U.S. route. The 7 a.m. departures ran on time 89% of the time; the 2 p.m. ones 54%. Most reliable airline: Frontier Airlines (79%). 12% of flights arrived more than an hour late or not at all.

How late?

The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for RDU → BOS: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 44% of the time. About 1 in 11 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 53 three hours or more; 3.0% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 2,847 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Delta Air Lines1,56977%2.9%−11 min9.4%+89 minDelta Air Lines 91%, Republic Airways 9%
JetBlue1,10474%3.4%−12 min9.7%+75 minJetBlue
Frontier Airlines17479%0.0%−11 min6.9%+90 minFrontier Airlines

Airline = the name on the ticket. Regional flights (e.g. "Delta Connection") count under the ticketing airline, and the operator is listed.

Best time of day to fly

On-time rate by scheduled departure hour (local time at RDU). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

40%70%100%6 a.m. departures: 88% on time (302 flights)886a7 a.m. departures: 89% on time (333 flights)897a8 a.m. departures: 85% on time (111 flights)858a9 a.m. departures: 86% on time (449 flights)869a10 a.m. departures: 79% on time (229 flights)7910a11 a.m. departures: too few flights (47 flights)11anoon departures: 74% on time (121 flights)7412p1 p.m. departures: 71% on time (205 flights)711p2 p.m. departures: 54% on time (153 flights)542p3 p.m. departures: too few flights (93 flights)3p4 p.m. departures: 65% on time (264 flights)654p5 p.m. departures: too few flights (54 flights)5p6 p.m. departures: 57% on time (103 flights)576p7 p.m. departures: 71% on time (210 flights)717p8 p.m. departures: 65% on time (161 flights)658p
RDU → BOS, share of flights arriving on time, by departure hour. Hours with under 100 flights are greyed out.
82%+ on time76–82%68–76%under 68%too few flights

By airline and hour

DepartsDelta Air LinesJetBlueFrontier Airlines
6 a.m.—87%—
7 a.m.87%——
9 a.m.89%87%77%
10 a.m.83%74%—
noon74%——
1 p.m.74%——
2 p.m.—51%—
4 p.m.63%——
7 p.m.75%——
8 p.m.62%——

Last flight of the day

On RDU → BOS, each airline's last flight of the day was cancelled 4.5% of the time, against 2.6% for its earlier flights (1.7× as often). It arrived 3+ hours late 2.8% of the time (earlier flights: 1.6%). It matters more than the numbers suggest. Miss an earlier flight and there's another one that evening; miss the last one and you're usually waiting until morning.

AirlineLast departureLast: cancelledLast: 3h+ lateEarlier: cancelledNext morning
JetBlue2:15 p.m.4.6%3.5%2.8%first flight 6:00 a.m.
Delta Air Lines7:55 p.m.4.4%2.2%2.5%first flight 7:00 a.m.

Last flight = the airline's last scheduled departure on this route that day, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Times are typical scheduled times over the latest three months.

If you need to be in BOS tonight, book an earlier flight so there's a backup if it's cancelled.

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026. Best: November (86%). Worst: September (69%).

40%70%100%Jan: 77% on time (570 flights)77JanFeb: 80% on time (543 flights)80FebMar: 85% on time (670 flights)85MarApr: 83% on time (721 flights)83AprMay: 81% on time (792 flights)81MayJun: 78% on time (747 flights)78JunJul: 72% on time (740 flights)72JulAug: 77% on time (785 flights)77AugSep: 69% on time (817 flights)69SepOct: 78% on time (886 flights)78OctNov: 86% on time (754 flights)86NovDec: 79% on time (703 flights)79Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday45872%4.8%
Tuesday39079%3.1%
Wednesday39279%0.5%
Thursday41876%1.9%
Friday44476%2.7%
Saturday33079%3.0%
Sunday41573%4.3%

Why flights were late

Share of delay minutes on flights 15+ minutes late, as reported to BTS by the airlines.

Late inbound plane 45%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 36%Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 19%Severe weather 1%

Cancellations: airline 37 · weather 30 · air traffic/airport 17

Month by month

50%75%100%Sep 2023Jan 2024Jan 2025Jan 2026Sep 2023: 63% on time, 5.5% cancelledOct 2023: 79% on time, 0.3% cancelledNov 2023: 86% on time, 0.4% cancelledDec 2023: 81% on time, 0.5% cancelledJan 2024: 71% on time, 1.1% cancelledFeb 2024: 83% on time, 1.1% cancelledMar 2024: 87% on time, 0.5% cancelledApr 2024: 79% on time, 0.4% cancelledMay 2024: 84% on time, 0.0% cancelledJun 2024: 80% on time, 1.1% cancelledJul 2024: 76% on time, 2.2% cancelledAug 2024: 73% on time, 2.9% cancelledSep 2024: 78% on time, 0.4% cancelledOct 2024: 86% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2024: 90% on time, 0.0% cancelledDec 2024: 80% on time, 1.9% cancelledJan 2025: 83% on time, 0.5% cancelledFeb 2025: 80% on time, 3.5% cancelledMar 2025: 88% on time, 1.2% cancelledApr 2025: 87% on time, 0.4% cancelledMay 2025: 75% on time, 0.4% cancelledJun 2025: 76% on time, 0.0% cancelledJul 2025: 69% on time, 2.2% cancelledAug 2025: 85% on time, 0.9% cancelledSep 2025: 66% on time, 1.2% cancelledOct 2025: 70% on time, 2.4% cancelledNov 2025: 82% on time, 1.2% cancelledDec 2025: 75% on time, 1.6% cancelledJan 2026: 75% on time, 9.4% cancelledFeb 2026: 77% on time, 7.8% cancelledMar 2026: 81% on time, 3.1% cancelledApr 2026: 82% on time, 0.4% cancelledMay 2026: 83% on time, 0.4% cancelledJun 2026: 78% on time, 4.5% cancelledJul 2026: 72% on time, 4.5% cancelledAug 2026: 76% on time, 2.8% cancelled
Share of flights on time, by month (hover a point for cancellations)
RDU → BOS, monthly on-time and cancellation rate.

Flight numbers on this route

Regular flights with at least 120 scheduled trips in the past year. Sorted by departure time.

FlightDepartsFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrivalOperated by
B6 14846:00 a.m.20778%4.8%−15 minJetBlue
DL 10547:00 a.m.34889%4.0%−16 minDelta Air Lines
F9 30588:59 a.m.17479%0.0%−11 minFrontier Airlines
B6 4849:23 a.m.32381%3.4%−13 minJetBlue
DL 10229:23 a.m.30986%2.6%−14 minDelta Air Lines
DL 10331:10 p.m.26373%1.5%−7 minDelta Air Lines
B6 21842:00 p.m.26557%3.4%+3 minJetBlue
DL 10754:05 p.m.23664%1.3%−1 minDelta Air Lines
DL 23937:35 p.m.27569%3.6%−8 minDelta Air Lines

Worst days in the past year

DateFlightsOn timeCancelled
Jan 26, 202660%5
Jan 19, 202660%0
Feb 23, 202660%6
Jan 25, 202650%5
Sep 25, 20251010%2

Questions

How often are flights from RDU to BOS on time?

76% of 2,847 scheduled flights from Raleigh/Durham, NC to Boston, MA arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 2.9% were cancelled.

What is the best time of day to fly RDU to BOS?

Flights scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. were the most reliable (89% on time). The 2 p.m. departures were the least (54%).

Which airline is most on time from RDU to BOS?

Frontier Airlines: 79% of its 174 flights on the route arrived on time. Delta Air Lines: 77%. JetBlue: 74%.

What month has the most delays from RDU to BOS?

September (69% on time). The best month is November (86%), over 2023–2026.

Is the last flight of the day from RDU to BOS more likely to be cancelled?

Yes. Each airline's last RDU–BOS flight of the day was cancelled 4.5% of the time over the past year, against 2.6% for its earlier flights. If the last flight is cancelled, the next one is usually the following morning.

Related

Domestic flights by the airlines that report to the U.S. DOT, plus their regional partners. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes after schedule; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Past performance is a guide, not a forecast. Method.