Houston to Baton Rouge

What the Data Says About IAH to BTR

The Houston to Baton Rouge corridor (IAH → BTR) covers roughly 253 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,147 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 86.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,236 flights were recorded on this pairing — 29 cancelled (2.3%) and 4 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 14 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,147 total flights analyzed, the 86.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 86.3-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 2020 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Jan 2024 came in at 72% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAH to BTR route, the combination of a 86.5% on-time rate, 86.3-minute average delay, 2.3% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.