Austin to New Orleans

What the Data Says About AUS to MSY

The Austin to New Orleans corridor (AUS → MSY) covers roughly 444 miles and is served by 19 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,549 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 61.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,598 flights were recorded on this pairing — 21 cancelled (0.6%) and 8 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 19 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,549 total flights analyzed, the 78.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 61.2-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 88% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 62% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the AUS to MSY route, the combination of a 78.3% on-time rate, 61.2-minute average delay, 0.6% recent cancellation rate, and 19 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.