How reliable is JetBlue? Where its on-time record breaks down

JetBlue arrived on time on 71.3% of its flights from September 2025 to August 2026, rank 14 of 14 US carriers. It cancelled 3.56% of its schedule, well above the national 1.89%, and 12.1% of its flights arrived an hour or more late, against 8.3% nationally. On the four measures the airline rankings use, JetBlue sits well down the table on every one.

The usual defence is geography: JetBlue lives at Kennedy, Boston and Fort Lauderdale, three of the harder airports in the country. The data supports that defence only partly.

At every one of its seven bases with a page here, JetBlue's own departures ran behind the airport's average.

The bases, against the airports they fly from

The comparison removes the geography excuse. At Boston, the airport ran 74.6% and JetBlue ran several points lower. At Kennedy the airport ran 74.3%, with JetBlue again below it. At Fort Lauderdale, which ran 70.4% and ranked 60 of 60 airports, JetBlue ran lower still. Orlando, Palm Beach, San Juan and Los Angeles tell the same story. The other airlines at those airports face the same weather and the same air traffic control, and do better. Of everything in JetBlue's record, that is the figure I would weigh most: the airport cannot take all the blame when its average beats JetBlue at all seven bases.

The DOT's cause codes suggest where the difference comes from. Late-arriving aircraft account for 45% of JetBlue's delay minutes, against 40% nationally, and the air traffic system 25%, against 21%. JetBlue's aircraft shuttle between New England, New York and Florida all day, so a morning ground delay programme at Kennedy can still be on the aircraft when it leaves Fort Lauderdale in the evening.

The Florida shuttle is the problem

JetBlue's first wave is fine. Between 5am and 8am it ran 87.0% on time, close to the national 89.3%. By 5pm to 8pm it was down to 59.9%, and it stayed near that level into the night. The 27.1-point slope from morning to evening is steeper than the national 21.3.

The routes that carry that slope are the Northeast to Florida shuttles. The Fort Lauderdale to Boston route and the return to Fort Lauderdale sit near the bottom of JetBlue's list; the route as a whole ran 66.8% northbound and 66.8% southbound. Fort Lauderdale to LaGuardia and Fort Lauderdale to Newark are weaker still for JetBlue. The shuttle between Washington National and Boston ran 70.1% as a route, with JetBlue behind the other carriers on it.

On the shared Florida routes, Delta usually does better. The Kennedy to Fort Lauderdale route and the Delta flights on it share the same runways at both ends, and Delta's record was clearly ahead. Boston to Orlando shows the same gap. The exception is Palm Beach to Kennedy, where JetBlue beat Delta. The New York to Florida guide ranks the whole corridor.

Where JetBlue runs well

Long-haul is JetBlue's strength. The Los Angeles to Kennedy route ran 77.5% on time as a route, and the San Francisco to Kennedy route 78.0%, among JetBlue's best busy routes. Kennedy to Las Vegas tops its list. A five-hour sector carries scheduled time to absorb a late push-back, and the eastbound flights into Kennedy were competitive with Delta and American on the same routes. The transcontinental guide compares JetBlue with the other airlines on those routes.

San Juan and the Caribbean

JetBlue is the largest airline at San Juan, and its Puerto Rico flying runs a little better than its network. The San Juan to Orlando route and San Juan to Fort Lauderdale are among its steadier busy routes, and San Juan's own departures ran 77.7% on time. The flights into San Juan from the Northeast do worse: Kennedy to San Juan ran 70.2% as a route, against 77.8% for the return. As on the Florida routes, the northern end is where the delay starts.

How late the late ones run

When JetBlue is late it tends to be very late. 42.2% of its late flights crossed the one-hour mark, against 36.6% nationally, and they averaged 77 minutes behind schedule. That matters more than the headline rate for anyone connecting onward from Kennedy or Boston, or meeting a cruise in Fort Lauderdale. A carrier whose delays are long turns a missed 15-minute window into a missed evening.

{
 "flights": 240615,
 "completed": 231217,
 "onTimePct": 71.3,
 "veryLatePct": 12.1,
 "avgDelayMin": 76.8,
 "medianArrDelay": -4,
 "cancelPct": 3.56,
 "divertPct": 0.34,
 "causes": {
  "carrier": 0.2739,
  "weather": 0.0251,
  "nas": 0.25,
  "security": 0.0018,
  "lateAircraft": 0.4493
 },
 "byHourBlock": [87, 79.6, 70.4, 63.9, 59.9, 62.6 ],
 "byMonth": [68.4, 67.7, 70, 75.9, 81.4, 75.1, 62.2, 64, 79.2, 74.6, 75.1, 63.9 ],
 "byDow": [69, 75.6, 77, 70.2, 71.8, 72.4, 63.8 ]
}

This is JetBlue's file as the pipeline writes it. The 77-minute average above is its avgDelayMin field, and before booking a JetBlue connection I would read veryLatePct beside it rather than the on-time rate alone.

The calendar and the week

JetBlue's best month was May, at 81.4%, and its worst July, at 62.2%. December 2025 ran 63.9% and February 2026 67.7%. That is two troughs a year, the Northeast's winter storms and Florida's summer storms, and JetBlue's network is built across both. The 2025 Christmas and New Year window was especially hard on JetBlue: its on-time rate fell further during the holiday than almost any other airline's, and its cancellation rate rose sharply. The national window ran 72.4% against 78.9% in the normal weeks either side.

Wednesday was JetBlue's best day at 77.0% and Sunday its worst at 63.8%, a 13.2-point spread against 8.1 nationally. Sunday is the return day for the leisure traffic JetBlue carries to Florida and the Caribbean, and it likely lands on aircraft rotations that have been running full all weekend.

Flight numbers worth knowing

The best JetBlue flights are the first rotation out of a small airport. B6 1129, the 6am from Providence to Kennedy, and B6 411, the 6am from Kennedy to Las Vegas, are among the most punctual in its schedule. B6 768 from Aguadilla to Orlando and B6 1233, the 5am from Orlando to San Juan, are the Caribbean equivalent.

The worst leave Washington National or Florida late in the day. B6 1354, the 5pm from Washington National to Boston, and B6 2754, the 6:55pm on the same route, sit at the bottom, alongside B6 706, the 8pm from Fort Lauderdale to Newark, and B6 451, the 4:20pm from Boston to Orlando.

Where I would and would not fly JetBlue

Book JetBlue's long-haul flights with confidence. Its transcontinental record is competitive with the other airlines on those routes.

On the Florida shuttle, fly early or fly someone else. A JetBlue departure from Fort Lauderdale or Orlando after 4pm is among the least reliable flights on the corridor, and I would not put a connection or a cruise embarkation behind one. Delta and United usually do better on the same routes.

Avoid Sunday evening returns in winter. That stacks JetBlue's worst day, its worst hours and one of its two weak seasons.

Plan for cancellations, not just delays. At 3.56% JetBlue cancels more often than most, and on full leisure routes a cancelled flight can mean a day's wait. The connection risk tool helps if the trip has a connection.

JetBlue's record in detail: JetBlue Airways · JetBlue at Kennedy · JetBlue at Boston · JetBlue at Fort Lauderdale · Middle-tier carriers