New Orleans to Austin

What the Data Says About MSY to AUS

The New Orleans to Austin corridor (MSY → AUS) covers roughly 444 miles and is served by 19 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,520 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 61.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,596 flights were recorded on this pairing — 29 cancelled (0.8%) and 7 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 19 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,520 total flights analyzed, the 79.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 61.9-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 53% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSY to AUS route, the combination of a 79.7% on-time rate, 61.9-minute average delay, 0.8% recent cancellation rate, and 19 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.