Minneapolis to La Crosse

What the Data Says About MSP to LSE

The Minneapolis to La Crosse corridor (MSP → LSE) covers roughly 119 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,194 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 87.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 89.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,360 flights were recorded on this pairing — 13 cancelled (1.0%) and 5 diverted (0.4%). 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 2,194 total flights analyzed, the 87.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 89.9-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, Sep 2022 posted the best performance on this corridor at 98% on-time, while Feb 2022 came in at 70% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSP to LSE route, the combination of a 87.3% on-time rate, 89.9-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.