Los Angeles to Missoula

What the Data Says About LAX to MSO

The Los Angeles to Missoula corridor (LAX → MSO) covers roughly 923 miles and is served by 5 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 682 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 52.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 682 flights were recorded on this pairing — 4 cancelled (0.6%) and 3 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 5 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 682 total flights analyzed, the 82.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 52.2-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, Aug 2021 posted the best performance on this corridor at 87% on-time, while Jun 2021 came in at 74% on-time — a 13-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LAX to MSO route, the combination of a 82.7% on-time rate, 52.2-minute average delay, 0.6% recent cancellation rate, and 5 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.