New York to Houston

What the Data Says About LGA to IAH

The New York to Houston corridor (LGA → IAH) covers roughly 1,416 miles and is served by 37 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 21,492 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82% on-time rate with an average delay of 91.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 8,418 flights were recorded on this pairing — 161 cancelled (1.9%) and 46 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 37 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 21,492 total flights analyzed, the 82% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 91.7-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 66% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LGA to IAH route, the combination of a 82% on-time rate, 91.7-minute average delay, 1.9% recent cancellation rate, and 37 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.