Dallas to New Orleans

What the Data Says About DAL to MSY

The Dallas to New Orleans corridor (DAL → MSY) covers roughly 436 miles and is served by 2 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,686 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 59.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,598 flights were recorded on this pairing — 71 cancelled (1.5%) and 14 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 2 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,686 total flights analyzed, the 78.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 59.0-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, Jan 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 62% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DAL to MSY route, the combination of a 78.2% on-time rate, 59.0-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 2 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.