IAH to MSY flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport · 305 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at IAH or MSY right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Houston (IAH) to New Orleans (MSY) arrived on time 84% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.2% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- Departures scheduled around 7am did best (92% on time); around 6pm did worst (76%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (86% on time) and Sunday the least (81%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (46%).
Which airline is most on time from IAH to MSY?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines | 88% | 0.0% | 9 min | 3.3% | 123 |
| United Airlines | 83% | 0.1% | 11 min | 5.7% | 2,776 |
| Frontier Airlines | 77% | 3.7% | 46 min | 7.7% | 27 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 75% | 0.0% | 35 min | 25.0% | 4 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 7am92%339 flights
- 8am96%48 flights
- 9am84%343 flights
- 11am87%335 flights
- 2pm84%238 flights
- 3pm79%137 flights
- 4pm87%288 flights
- 6pm76%380 flights
- 7pm73%41 flights
- 8pm79%367 flights
- 9pm83%83 flights
- 10pm84%265 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday84%0.7% cancelled
- Tuesday85%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday86%0.2% cancelled
- Thursday84%0.0% cancelled
- Friday83%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday82%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday81%0.2% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft46%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)37%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion13%
- Extreme weather4%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather60%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)40%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
IAH to MSY: common questions
- How often are IAH to MSY flights on time?
- 84% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Houston to New Orleans cancelled?
- 0.2% of scheduled flights were cancelled (5 of 2,930).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 11 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 61 min behind schedule on average, and 5.6% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at IAH?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: MSY to IAH — 83% on time
More flights from Houston
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: IAH → MSY, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.