MSY to IAH flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport · 305 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at MSY or IAH right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from New Orleans (MSY) to Houston (IAH) arrived on time 83% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.4% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- Departures scheduled around 5am did best (95% on time); around 5pm did worst (69%).
- Monday was the most reliable day to fly (86% on time) and Sunday the least (79%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (36%).
Which airline is most on time from MSY to IAH?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 83% | 0.4% | 13 min | 5.9% | 2,777 |
| Spirit Airlines | 82% | 0.0% | 13 min | 5.0% | 121 |
| Frontier Airlines | 81% | 3.7% | 59 min | 7.7% | 27 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 75% | 0.0% | 31 min | 25.0% | 4 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am95%352 flights
- 7am79%361 flights
- 9am90%354 flights
- 11am87%190 flights
- 12pm79%153 flights
- 2pm85%358 flights
- 3pm77%367 flights
- 5pm69%371 flights
- 6pm80%30 flights
- 7pm84%245 flights
- 8pm82%50 flights
- 10pm91%32 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday86%0.7% cancelled
- Tuesday86%0.5% cancelled
- Wednesday85%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday81%0.5% cancelled
- Friday83%0.2% cancelled
- Saturday80%0.3% cancelled
- Sunday79%0.5% 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 aircraft36%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion36%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)21%
- Extreme weather7%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)64%
- Extreme weather36%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
MSY to IAH: common questions
- How often are MSY to IAH flights on time?
- 83% 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 New Orleans to Houston cancelled?
- 0.4% of scheduled flights were cancelled (11 of 2,929).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 14 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 75 min behind schedule on average, and 5.9% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at MSY?
- Flights on this route spent 16 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: IAH to MSY — 84% on time
More flights from New Orleans
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: MSY → IAH, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.