Orlando to Raleigh/Durham

What the Data Says About MCO to RDU

The Orlando to Raleigh/Durham corridor (MCO → RDU) covers roughly 534 miles and is served by 31 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 13,970 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 81.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,339 flights were recorded on this pairing — 66 cancelled (1.2%) and 12 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 31 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 13,970 total flights analyzed, the 77.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 81.7-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 Mar 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 30-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MCO to RDU route, the combination of a 77.8% on-time rate, 81.7-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 31 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.