Houston to Birmingham

What the Data Says About IAH to BHM

The Houston to Birmingham corridor (IAH → BHM) covers roughly 562 miles and is served by 11 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,876 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,500 flights were recorded on this pairing — 28 cancelled (1.9%) and 7 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 11 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,876 total flights analyzed, the 83% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.5-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, Nov 2023 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Jul 2021 came in at 46% on-time — a 41-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAH to BHM route, the combination of a 83% on-time rate, 72.5-minute average delay, 1.9% recent cancellation rate, and 11 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.