New Orleans to Dallas

What the Data Says About MSY to DAL

The New Orleans to Dallas corridor (MSY → DAL) covers roughly 436 miles and is served by 2 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,660 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 62.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,574 flights were recorded on this pairing — 79 cancelled (1.7%) and 13 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 2 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,660 total flights analyzed, the 78.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 62.5-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 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 60% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSY to DAL route, the combination of a 78.6% on-time rate, 62.5-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 2 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.