Madison to Minneapolis

What the Data Says About MSN to MSP

The Madison to Minneapolis corridor (MSN → MSP) covers roughly 228 miles and is served by 11 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,104 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 88.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 100.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,683 flights were recorded on this pairing — 19 cancelled (0.7%) and 5 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 11 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,104 total flights analyzed, the 88.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 100.1-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 98% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSN to MSP route, the combination of a 88.2% on-time rate, 100.1-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 11 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.