Plan Ahead: Best Dates, Airlines For Spring Break Travel From PDX

PORTLAND, OR — Thinking about taking a trip this spring that may require air travel? If you're flying in or out of Portland's PDX airport at any point, have confidence you'll get to wherever you're going on time.

Many schools, colleges and universities will pause for spring break this month, and hundreds of thousands of travelers could experience delays at airports serving prime destinations and connections to places like Arizona, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Mexico and Bahamas, according to a new spring travel forecast issued Tuesday.

Passover, which begins March 30, and Easter on April 1, will add more travelers to a busy time in the sky.

On certain days, airports and airlines are worse than others when it comes to travel delays. Analyzing five years of U.S. Department of Transportation data during the spring travel period from March 1 to May 31, RewardExpert — an online service that sorts out frequent flyer programs and credit card rewards — has come up with some lists that may reduce the travel hassles.

If you’re passing through PDX in Portland, you can rest assured you'll most likely stay on schedule.

Averaging 4,443 flights per day, Portland International Airport is ranked 32 out of 45 for average flight volume; it's a rather low ranking, but perhaps it's why PDX is ranked 3 out of 45 for average on-time performance — meeting 86 percent of its scheduled flights on time.

To see more airport rankings, click here.

Worst On-Time Performance

Best On-Time Performance

Best And Worst Travel Dates

There is simply no “best” travel date in March. Six of 10 days with the worst-average on-time performance fall during March, when airports are busiest and flights are most crowded. Also, delays have increased significantly over the last five years, by as much as 11.6 percent.

Avoid flying on March 1, 12 or 13, which are historically among the worst days for travel this season, and are expected to be especially worse this year, RewardExpert said.

If you’re planning to visit family for Easter or Passover, travel early if you can. Easter Sunday and the first day of Passover, as well as the day before, are more likely to feature delays and airport hassles.

April is an exceptionally good month to travel, if you can avoid the first week, which has seen some of the steepest declines in average on-time performance over the past five years, according to the report.

Flight delays increased by more than 25 percent, but were mitigated by relatively low air traffic volume, while average on-time performance on April 7 has declined by 14.63 percent.

Tax Day is again delayed this year because April 15 falls on a Sunday, but travel on the 15th is one of the best days to travel.

Flights from April 11 through 18 are among the least frequently delayed, airports are not especially busy and high on-time performance for flights on these days has been increasing consistently over the last five years.

Another good day to travel is Earth Day on April 22, when an average of more than 85 percent of flights arrive and depart on schedule.

If you’re planning to travel for Memorial Day, observed May 28, weekend flights are good options. On-time performance isn’t exceptionally high, but flight volume and reservations are usually low. The flight may be delayed, but you’ll likely have fewer airport hassles and be stuck on a less crowded plane.

The worst days of the season coincide with the beginning of Daylight Saving Time March 11.

Best And Worst Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines have the best and second-best records for on-time performance, followed by Delta Airlines.

JetBlue, which books the most spring break flights, has the worst on-time performance overall, with only about three-fourths of its flights arriving or departing on time.

Other budget carriers, Southwest and Frontier, were the second- and third-worst for on-time performance.

However, major national carriers’ on-time performance rates don’t dip much during the spring travel period.

Delta earns third place nationally and leads the pack among competing national carriers American and United, which fall in the middle of the pack, earning fifth and sixth place, respectively.

On-Time Performance

Flight Volume

Some other findings from the report:

Many people will be heading to Florida for spring break, so expect planes full of college students and delays at all major airports, especially in March. Still, airports in the Sunshine State aren’t the most notorious during the three-month period.

If you’re heading to or leaving Houston or Dallas, consider alternatives — George Bush International Airport in Houston or one of the regional airports in Fort Worth.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest air travel hub in the county, but maintains an impressively high on-time performance, with nearly 94 percent of flights arriving and departing on schedule.

Image via JW_PNW/ShutterStock