Airport month record
HNLFEB
Daniel K. Inouye International in February 2026
- Departures
- 4,464
- Month
- February 2026
- National, same month
- 80.2%
- Carriers
- 5
Historical statistics for February 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s February. For today’s conditions at HNL, see live FAA status.
HNL in February lands a B+, 2 points better than the national rate of 80.2%. Roughly one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by about 55 minutes on average. That is a workable record, not a spotless one. That rests on 4,464 flights, of which Southwest Airlines flew 912 at 90.9% on time.
Key figures
On time
81.8%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 4,420 completed departures
Avg delay
55 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
0.90%
Nationally in February: 2.25%
Whole year
82.9%
HNL across all twelve months
These figures cover 4,464 departures from Daniel K. Inouye International in February 2026. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
February next to HNL's other months
Against HNL's own year, February ran about a point worse than the twelve-month rate of 82.9%, which makes it number nine of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, January ran 79.7% on time and March 73.7%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a worse stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 5,176 | 83.9% | 56 min | 1.22% | B |
| August 2025 | 4,921 | 88.7% | 55 min | 0.22% | A+ |
| September 2025 | 4,480 | 91.4% | 61 min | 0.25% | A+ |
| October 2025 | 4,682 | 87.4% | 58 min | 0.53% | A+ |
| November 2025 | 4,623 | 84.2% | 50 min | 1.64% | B |
| December 2025 | 5,054 | 76.1% | 58 min | 0.67% | B+ |
| January 2026 | 5,054 | 79.7% | 59 min | 1.37% | B |
| February 2026 (this page) | 4,464 | 81.8% | 55 min | 0.90% | B+ |
| March 2026 | 5,037 | 73.7% | 56 min | 2.24% | C |
| April 2026 | 4,809 | 82.8% | 47 min | 0.60% | B+ |
| May 2026 | 4,953 | 82.7% | 47 min | 1.13% | B |
| June 2026 | 4,899 | 83.7% | 44 min | 0.69% | B+ |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave HNL in February
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 26 points, against 13 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am452 flights93.1%
- 8am–11am822 flights88.8%
- 11am–2pm940 flights78.1%
- 2pm–5pm791 flights67.5%
- 5pm–8pm616 flights78.2%
- 8pm–5am843 flights89.1%
Scale runs 60% to 100%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 93.1% of the time, against 67.5% for the afternoon window. That is 26 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 11am–2pm window is the busiest, with 940 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 85.9% on time and Saturday the weakest at 78.1%. 8 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at HNL in February
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Southwest Airlines arrives on time 90.9% of the time; Alaska Airlines manages 77.5%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 2,706 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 2,706 | 77.5% | 45 min | 1.26% | B |
| Southwest Airlines | 912 | 90.9% | 34 min | 0.11% | A+ |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 337 | 85.7% | 121 min | 0.30% | A+ |
| Delta Air Linesthin sample | 296 | 85.3% | 95 min | 1.01% | A |
| American Airlinesthin sample | 213 | 86.8% | 148 min | 0.47% | A+ |
The spread between Southwest and Alaska is 13 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 13 more arrivals inside the on-time window.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of HNL in February
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HNL to OGG · Kahului | 799 | 79.0% | 37 min | 1.00% | B |
| HNL to LIH · Lihue | 587 | 80.2% | 35 min | 2.73% | B |
| HNL to KOA · Kailua-Kona | 573 | 83.5% | 35 min | 0.70% | B+ |
| HNL to ITO · Hilo | 493 | 80.9% | 38 min | 0.20% | B+ |
| HNL to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 359 | 85.2% | 109 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| HNL to SEA · Seattlethin sample | 231 | 80.8% | 84 min | 0.87% | B+ |
| HNL to SFO · San Franciscothin sample | 163 | 84.0% | 133 min | 0.61% | B+ |
| HNL to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 156 | 83.3% | 44 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| HNL to SAN · San Diegothin sample | 140 | 86.3% | 54 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| HNL to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 101 | 94.0% | 45 min | 0.99% | A+ |
| HNL to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 76 | 82.4% | 129 min | 2.63% | B |
| HNL to PDX · Portlandthin sample | 68 | 73.5% | 75 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| HNL to OAK · Oaklandthin sample | 56 | 87.5% | 30 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| HNL to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 56 | 83.9% | 35 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| HNL to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 56 | 89.3% | 59 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| HNL to SJC · San Josethin sample | 56 | 82.1% | 92 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| HNL to SMF · Sacramentothin sample | 56 | 81.5% | 51 min | 1.79% | B |
| HNL to LGB · Long Beachthin sample | 56 | 89.3% | 35 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| HNL to ANC · Anchoragethin sample | 48 | 61.7% | 42 min | 2.08% | D |
| HNL to JFK · New Yorkthin sample | 48 | 76.1% | 81 min | 4.17% | B− |
| HNL to DEN · Denverthin sample | 46 | 87.0% | 171 min | 0.00% | A+ |
Delay causes
What held HNL up in February
One category carries most of the weight here. Carrier accounts for 57% of the 44,000 delay minutes carriers reported, and the remaining four split what is left. The split is by minutes rather than by flights, so a few very long delays count for as much as many short ones.
- 57%Carrier
- 34%Late-arriving aircraft
- 6%National Airspace System
- 3%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
The largest share of delay minutes, 57%, falls under carrier control: crew scheduling, maintenance, fuelling, baggage. Unlike weather, that is a management outcome, and it is the category where the gap between two carriers on the same schedule is genuinely earned. It accounts for 25,000 of the 44,000 delay minutes reported here. The split is drawn from 43,913 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 0.90% against a national 2.25%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.09%.
Badly late arrivals are rare here: only 3.6% land an hour or more behind schedule, against 6.5% nationally. Connections built on this flight are about as safe as US domestic connections get, though a cancelled flight still ignores every layover you give it.
What to do with this
Flying from HNL in February
For a February trip through HNL: expect 81.8% on time and 0.90% cancelled, going by February 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Daniel K. Inouye International (HNL), the whole year
- HNL in July83.9%
- HNL in August88.7%
- HNL in September91.4%
- HNL in October87.4%
- HNL in November84.2%
- HNL in December76.1%
- HNL in January79.7%
- HNL in March73.7%
- HNL in April82.8%
- HNL in May82.7%
- HNL in June83.7%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.