Route · MSY → SFO · 2020–2025 BTS data
New Orleans to San Francisco
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), MSY to SFO (New Orleans to San Francisco) ranks #3813 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 78.7%
- On-time
- -0.3 pts
- vs US avg
- 81 min
- Delay when late
- 2,014
- Flights
- #3813 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.9%
Best Month
Oct 2025 93%
Worst Month
Apr 2024 53%
Distance
1,911 mi
Carriers
3
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 43 | 8 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Nov 2025 | 56 | 10 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Oct 2025 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Sep 2025 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | UA,AA |
| Aug 2025 | 31 | 7 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Jul 2025 | 31 | 12 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jun 2025 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| May 2025 | 46 | 12 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Apr 2025 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Mar 2025 | 49 | 9 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Feb 2025 | 45 | 13 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jan 2025 | 50 | 3 | 3 | 0 | UA |
| Dec 2024 | 43 | 12 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Nov 2024 | 60 | 10 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Oct 2024 | 62 | 6 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Sep 2024 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Aug 2024 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 1 | UA |
| Jul 2024 | 31 | 13 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Jun 2024 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| May 2024 | 33 | 19 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Apr 2024 | 60 | 28 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Mar 2024 | 62 | 25 | 0 | 0 | UA |
| Feb 2024 | 49 | 22 | 1 | 0 | UA |
| Jan 2024 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | UA |
MSY–SFO seasonal on-time pattern
Best: October (89.9%) · weakest: June (70.0%)
Strongest calendar month
October
89.9% on-time · ~45 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
March
~57 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
June
70.0% on-time · ~30 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.9%
9 of 1,049 flights
Diversion Rate
0.1%
1 of 1,049 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
MSY - New Orleans
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for New Orleans, LA.
MSY on-time profileSFO - San Francisco
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for San Francisco, CA.
SFO on-time profileCompare the two airports
See MSY and SFO side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare MSY vs SFOOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among MSY departures
From MSY, this corridor sits with 28 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 34 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (5 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 1 below 75%). Destination: San Francisco · fleet on-time rank #3612 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to MSY–SFO.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About MSY to SFO
2,014 tracked flights put the MSY to SFO pairing (New Orleans to San Francisco) at a 78.7% on-time rate, squarely in line with the wider network. Delays that do occur run 81.1 minutes on average. Across the 1,911-mile route and its 3 carriers, the trailing 24 months show 0.9% cancelled and 0.1% diverted (1,049 flights sampled).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Oct 2025 posted the strongest performance at 93% on-time, while Apr 2024 came in at just 53% - a 39-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, MSY–SFO peaks in October at 89.9% on-time while March carries the heaviest traffic (~57 flights per month) ; the softest month is June at 70.0%, a 19.9-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does MSY to SFO rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from MSY to SFO? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for MSY to SFO? ▼
How far is the flight from MSY to SFO? ▼
When is the best time to fly from MSY to SFO? ▼
Airports on this route
Data source
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data. Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Using MSY–SFO data
MSY–SFO is mid-pack at 78.7% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare MSY and SFO airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. MSY airport
- If your dates flex, October (89.9% on-time) beats June (70.0%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 78.7% on-time rate; compare before you commit to this pairing. Similar routes
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers on this origin–destination pair, not any single flight or booking recommendation.
Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates this specific route's on-time performance and monthly trend, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.