Missoula to Los Angeles

What the Data Says About MSO to LAX

The Missoula to Los Angeles corridor (MSO → LAX) 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 76% on-time rate with an average delay of 68.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 682 flights were recorded on this pairing — 7 cancelled (1.0%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). 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 76% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 68.3-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 82% on-time, while Jul 2021 came in at 59% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSO to LAX route, the combination of a 76% on-time rate, 68.3-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 5 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.