Nearly 3 in 10 JetBlue Flights Delayed or Canceled

BOSTON - Nearly three out of every 10 JetBlue domestic flights were canceled or arrived late during a recent 12-month study. For anyone booking a tight connection or trying to make an important appointment, that’s not exactly soothing news.

A CoinBets analysis ranked JetBlue as the worst-performing U.S. airline for cancellations and delays, according to WWLP. JetBlue recorded a 29.29% disruption rate for domestic flights scheduled from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026.

The study examined 7,047,314 scheduled domestic flights using the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance database. Researchers classified a flight as delayed when it arrived at least 15 minutes after its scheduled arrival time, then combined delayed and canceled flights to calculate each airline’s disruption rate.

JetBlue narrowly lands at the bottom

JetBlue’s last-place finish was remarkably close. PSA Airlines ranked second with a 29.26% disruption rate, only 0.03 percentage points behind JetBlue. Spirit Airlines followed at 29.11%, while Frontier Airlines posted a 28.88% disruption rate, according to WWLP.

For JetBlue, the study reported a 27.57% delay rate and a 2.50% cancellation rate. That distinction matters. A late flight can still get passengers where they’re going, albeit with frayed nerves and perhaps a missed dinner. A cancellation can unravel an itinerary entirely.

JetBlue did not have the study’s highest cancellation rate. That belonged to PSA Airlines at 4.34%, while Republic Airways had the second-highest rate at 4.15%. Spirit canceled 3.41% of scheduled flights during the period.

There’s another wrinkle in the rankings: Spirit ceased operations in May 2026, according to WWLP. Hawaiian Airlines also merged into Alaska Airlines in January 2026. In other words, this is a look at a specific period in a changing airline market, not a permanent seating chart carved into stone.

Delta led the reliability ranking

Among the three largest legacy carriers, American Airlines had the highest combined disruption rate at 27.42%. American canceled 2.28% of its scheduled flights.

United Airlines performed considerably better, with a 21.82% disruption rate and a 1.01% cancellation rate. Delta Air Lines ranked as the most reliable airline analyzed, posting a 20.42% disruption rate, a 19.12% delay rate and a 1.67% cancellation rate, according to WWLP.

The comparison with Delta also shows why airline statistics require a careful look at both the measurement and the time period. In the first half of 2026, Delta canceled 19,150 domestic flights, up from 9,696 during the first half of 2025, according to Simple Flying. Its cancellation rate increased from 1.22% to 2.35%.

Yet Delta’s on-time rate improved from 78.70% to 79.33% during that same comparison, placing it second among major U.S. airline networks. An airline, it turns out, can improve punctuality among the flights it operates while canceling a larger share of its schedule. Reliability numbers don’t always move neatly in one direction.

How travelers can reduce the risk

CoinBets’ advice is refreshingly ordinary: book earlier flights, allow more time for connections and check an airline’s performance on the route being considered. None of that guarantees a smooth trip, of course, but it can reduce exposure to delays that accumulate through the day.

“Anyone booking a flight this year can tilt the odds in their favor with a few normal habits. The first flights of the morning are the safest bet, since delays often worsen as the day goes on. Leaving real breathing room between connections helps, and it pays to look at how an airline has done on the exact route before handing over any money. If a flight is canceled, the law says the fare is refunded to the original card rather than issued as a credit note, so it is worth holding out for the refund that is due. Looking specifically at airlines, the gap between the worst- and best-performing mainline carriers is notable. JetBlue disrupted nearly 30% of flights over the past year, while Delta disrupted just over 20%, which shows passengers can also improve reliability simply by choosing a different airline on the same route,” said Ryan Beckett, casino research lead at CoinBets, according to WWLP.

That refund point is worth remembering. Federal rules entitle passengers to a refund to their original payment method when an airline cancels a flight, WWLP reported. Travelers don’t have to accept a credit note instead of the refund they’re owed.

Should JetBlue’s ranking change your booking?

I wouldn’t treat one ranking as an automatic reason to avoid JetBlue. The study covers 14 airlines and measures a clearly defined outcome, but it doesn’t judge every part of the travel experience. It tells us how often flights were canceled or arrived at least 15 minutes late during one specific period. That’s useful, though it isn’t the whole story of an airline ticket.

Still, a 29.29% disruption rate is difficult to shrug off when timing matters. If JetBlue and a better-performing carrier offer reasonable options for the same trip, reliability deserves a place beside schedule and fare in the decision. Travelers booking connections should be especially cautious about short layovers and later departures.

The Delta comparison is also a good reminder to look beyond a single headline statistic. Cancellation rates, delay rates and on-time performance describe different pieces of the operation. JetBlue finished last on the combined measure used by CoinBets, while Delta finished first, but even Delta experienced a sharp increase in cancellations during the first half of 2026.

Air travel will always involve weather, congestion and the occasional operational mess. You can’t control those. You can, however, choose an earlier departure, leave breathing room in the itinerary and know your refund rights. Given JetBlue’s showing in this study, those small precautions look less like travel fussiness and more like common sense.