ON TIMEBOARD

MEM → BNA on time

Frederick W. Smith (Memphis, TN) to Nashville (Nashville, TN). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
75%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.4%
546 flights
Typical arrival
0 min
median vs schedule
When late
+45 min
average delay
Flights / day
1
1 airline

75% of flights from Memphis to Nashville arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is worse than the typical U.S. route. The 8 a.m. departures ran on time 83% of the time; the 2 p.m. ones 81%. 6% 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 MEM → BNA: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 69% of the time. About 1 in 18 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 273 three hours or more; 0.4% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 546 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Southwest Airlines54675%0.4%0 min5.7%+45 minSouthwest 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 MEM). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

40%70%100%7 a.m. departures: too few flights (73 flights)7a8 a.m. departures: 83% on time (108 flights)838a9 a.m. departures: too few flights (1 flights)9a10 a.m. departures: too few flights (20 flights)10a11 a.m. departures: too few flights11anoon departures: too few flights (8 flights)12p1 p.m. departures: too few flights (37 flights)1p2 p.m. departures: 81% on time (101 flights)812p3 p.m. departures: too few flights (73 flights)3p4 p.m. departures: too few flights (58 flights)4p5 p.m. departures: too few flights (62 flights)5p
MEM → BNA, 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

Last flight of the day

On MEM → BNA, each airline's last flight of the day was cancelled 0.0% of the time, against 0.0% for its earlier flights, about the same. It arrived 3+ hours late 0.6% of the time (earlier flights: 0.5%). 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
Southwest Airlines4:15 p.m.0.0%0.6%0.0%first flight 8:25 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.

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026.

40%70%100%Jan: too few flights (31 flights)JanFeb: too few flights (28 flights)FebMar: too few flights (58 flights)MarApr: too few flights (83 flights)AprMay: too few flights (92 flights)MayJun: too few flights (90 flights)JunJul: too few flights (93 flights)JulAug: too few flights (93 flights)AugSep: too few flights (30 flights)SepOct: too few flights (31 flights)OctNov: too few flights (32 flights)NovDec: too few flights (31 flights)Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday79——
Tuesday77——
Wednesday77——
Thursday78——
Friday78——
Saturday78——
Sunday79——

Why flights were late

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

Late inbound plane 53%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 26%Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 19%Severe weather 2%

Cancellations: weather 2

Month by month

Not enough months with data to draw a trend.

Worst days in the past year

DateFlightsOn timeCancelled
Nov 30, 2025333%0

Questions

How often are flights from MEM to BNA on time?

75% of 546 scheduled flights from Memphis, TN to Nashville, TN arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 0.4% were cancelled.

What is the best time of day to fly MEM to BNA?

Flights scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. were the most reliable (83% on time). The 2 p.m. departures were the least (81%).

Is the last flight of the day from MEM to BNA more likely to be cancelled?

Not much. Each airline's last MEM–BNA flight of the day was cancelled 0.0% of the time over the past year, against 0.0% 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.