Rochester to Minneapolis

What the Data Says About RST to MSP

The Rochester to Minneapolis corridor (RST → MSP) covers roughly 76 miles and is served by 10 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,351 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 89.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 101.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,787 flights were recorded on this pairing — 21 cancelled (1.2%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). 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 5,351 total flights analyzed, the 89.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 101.7-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 97% on-time, while Jun 2024 came in at 65% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the RST to MSP route, the combination of a 89.1% on-time rate, 101.7-minute average delay, 1.2% recent cancellation rate, and 10 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.