Minneapolis to Rochester

What the Data Says About MSP to RST

The Minneapolis to Rochester corridor (MSP → RST) covers roughly 76 miles and is served by 10 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,350 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 92.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,787 flights were recorded on this pairing — 23 cancelled (1.3%) and 3 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 10 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,350 total flights analyzed, the 86.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 92.8-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, Nov 2023 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2024 came in at 69% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSP to RST route, the combination of a 86.2% on-time rate, 92.8-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 10 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.