Mission/McAllen/Edinburg to Houston

What the Data Says About MFE to IAH

The Mission/McAllen/Edinburg to Houston corridor (MFE → IAH) covers roughly 316 miles and is served by 16 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,812 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 89.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 98.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,518 flights were recorded on this pairing — 33 cancelled (2.2%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 16 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,812 total flights analyzed, the 89.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 98.5-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 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 96% on-time, while May 2025 came in at 75% on-time — a 21-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MFE to IAH route, the combination of a 89.1% on-time rate, 98.5-minute average delay, 2.2% recent cancellation rate, and 16 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.