Houston to Atlanta

What the Data Says About IAH to ATL

The Houston to Atlanta corridor (IAH → ATL) covers roughly 689 miles and is served by 34 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 26,071 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 74.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 9,082 flights were recorded on this pairing — 154 cancelled (1.7%) and 12 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 34 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 26,071 total flights analyzed, the 80.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 74.1-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 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 59% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAH to ATL route, the combination of a 80.8% on-time rate, 74.1-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 34 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.