Houston to Orlando

What the Data Says About IAH to MCO

The Houston to Orlando corridor (IAH → MCO) covers roughly 854 miles and is served by 17 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 20,515 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 78.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,281 flights were recorded on this pairing — 121 cancelled (1.7%) and 24 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 17 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 20,515 total flights analyzed, the 78.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 78.9-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 90% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 56% on-time — a 34-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAH to MCO route, the combination of a 78.4% on-time rate, 78.9-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 17 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.