Minneapolis to Lincoln

What the Data Says About MSP to LNK

The Minneapolis to Lincoln corridor (MSP → LNK) covers roughly 331 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 803 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 90.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 803 flights were recorded on this pairing — 53 cancelled (6.6%) and 4 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 803 total flights analyzed, the 90.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.6-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, Apr 2020 posted the best performance on this corridor at 98% on-time, while Dec 2021 came in at 79% on-time — a 19-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSP to LNK route, the combination of a 90.3% on-time rate, 75.6-minute average delay, 6.6% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.