SAN to MSY flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport · 1,600 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
72%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.9%
3 flights
Avg arrival delay
16 min
49 min when late
Airlines
1
342 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to New Orleans (MSY) arrived on time 72% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.9% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 10am did best (97% on time); around 1pm did worst (52%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (88% on time) and Monday the least (63%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (57%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 72% | 0.9% | 16 min | 5.9% | 342 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 8am80%130 flights
- 9am61%34 flights
- 10am97%35 flights
- 11am77%32 flights
- 12pm55%32 flights
- 1pm52%23 flights
- 2pm63%41 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday63%1.9% cancelled
- Tuesday81%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday88%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday64%2.0% cancelled
- Friday67%1.9% cancelled
- Saturday71%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday66%0.0% 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 aircraft57%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)26%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion15%
- Security1%
- Extreme weather0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather67%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)33%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
SAN to MSY: common questions
- How often are SAN to MSY flights on time?
- 72% 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 San Diego to New Orleans cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights were cancelled (3 of 342).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 16 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 49 min behind schedule on average, and 5.9% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: MSY to SAN — 70% on time
More flights from San Diego
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SAN → MSY, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.