Historical on-time performance
New Orleans to Los Angeles
1,670 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on MSY–LAX arrive on time 81% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate81%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay35 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.4%of scheduled flights
based on 1,243 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Spirit AirlinesOn-time84%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.0%Flights43
- Delta Air LinesbestOn-time83%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.5%Flights968
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time72%Medianon timep9040 minCancel0.0%Flights232
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline51%
- Weather2%
- Air traffic (NAS)8%
- Late aircraft38%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline100%
- Weather0%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 5 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly MSY → LAX
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 91% on time.
- Mornings91% on time · p90 10 min · 1,388 flights
- Overnights79% on time · p90 40 min · 406 flights
- Middays76% on time · p90 40 min · 454 flights
- Afternoons76% on time · p90 35 min · 1,688 flights
- Evenings76% on time · p90 45 min · 976 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 76% to 84% on time.
- Tuesdays84% on time · p90 20 min · 653 flights
- Wednesdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 650 flights
- Thursdays81% on time · p90 35 min · 766 flights
- Fridays81% on time · p90 25 min · 763 flights
- Mondays79% on time · p90 40 min · 757 flights
- Saturdays79% on time · p90 30 min · 564 flights
- Sundays76% on time · p90 35 min · 760 flights
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