Denver to New Orleans

What the Data Says About DEN to MSY

The Denver to New Orleans corridor (DEN → MSY) covers roughly 1,062 miles and is served by 18 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,637 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 76.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 60.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,602 flights were recorded on this pairing — 60 cancelled (1.3%) and 9 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 18 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,637 total flights analyzed, the 76.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 60.8-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, Dec 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 53% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to MSY route, the combination of a 76.7% on-time rate, 60.8-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 18 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.