New Orleans to Charlotte

What the Data Says About MSY to CLT

The New Orleans to Charlotte corridor (MSY → CLT) covers roughly 651 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 10,903 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 93.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,836 flights were recorded on this pairing — 56 cancelled (1.5%) and 4 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 14 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 10,903 total flights analyzed, the 84.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 93.0-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 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 30-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSY to CLT route, the combination of a 84.1% on-time rate, 93.0-minute average delay, 1.5% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.