Best time to fly out of New Orleans (MSY)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Louis Armstrong New Orleans: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.2% of the time, against 64.5% in the 10pm–12am band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

On-time rate by hour and day

On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 92 92 94 94 94 94 92
6–8am 90 92 93 92 92 91 90
8–10am 86 90 89 88 88 88 87
10am–12pm 81 87 85 81 80 82 78
12–2pm 74 82 78 74 73 77 72
2–4pm 68 78 76 69 68 73 66
4–6pm 67 76 75 68 66 71 62
6–8pm 66 75 73 64 66 70 58
8–10pm 68 75 72 63 64 68 55
10pm–12am 68 – – 68 67 70 57
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at MSY was Before 6am — 93.2% of departures left on time across 8,205 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 64.5%. 6–8am departures from MSY left on time 91.5% of the time across 24,126 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.5% across 19,574. That is a gap of 25 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at MSY

July was the hard month at MSY: 68.2% of departures left on time, across 12,283 flights. September was the easy one at 83.7%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 78%.
Departure on-time share at MSY by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 79.8% 12,173
February 81.3% 12,592
March 75.9% 13,824
April 80.2% 13,277
May 71.9% 13,195
June 71% 11,976
July 68.2% 12,283
August 79% 11,421
September 83.7% 10,894
October 82.9% 13,528
November 83.3% 12,721
December 78.8% 12,636

Airlines at MSY

Every airline with at least 100 departures from MSY, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.

Airline Left on time Typical delay Cancelled Departures
Southwest Airlines 75% 53 min 1% 56,277
Delta Air Lines 82.3% 79 min 1.5% 22,265
American Airlines 76.7% 105 min 2% 21,225
United Airlines 85.8% 87 min 1.5% 19,840
Spirit Airlines 77.4% 73 min 2.1% 13,304
JetBlue Airways 69.1% 95 min 2% 3,981
Envoy Air 80.2% 64 min 2% 3,292
Frontier Airlines 70.5% 87 min 2.9% 2,386
PSA Airlines 74.4% 104 min 4.9% 2,304
Alaska Airlines 76.5% 56 min 1% 2,254
Republic Airways 83.1% 83 min 2.5% 1,829
SkyWest Airlines 80.3% 84 min 1.4% 1,277
Allegiant Air 72.9% 95 min 1.4% 281

What delays out of MSY were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 31,159 flights that departed MSY and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.5% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 46.7% Airline operations 28.5% Air traffic & airport volume 19.6% Severe weather 4.9% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 46.7%
  • Airline operations 28.5%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 19.6%
  • Severe weather 4.9%
  • Security 0.2%

Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.

If you are connecting through MSY

Of 150,520 scheduled arrivals into MSY, 76.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 33,514 arrivals that ran late, 55.7% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.

Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.

Busiest routes out of MSY

Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.

MSY in one number

Louis Armstrong New Orleans (MSY)

Rank 38 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 148,238 departures flown

78% of departures left on time

Questions about MSY

What is the best time of day to fly out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.2% of the time across 8,205 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 64.5%.
Is the early flight out of MSY really more reliable?
6–8am departures from MSY left on time 91.5% of the time across 24,126 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.5% across 19,574. That is a gap of 25 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of MSY?
July: 68.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 12,283 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 83.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at MSY?
United Airlines — 85.8% of its 19,840 departures from MSY left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 69.1% over 3,981 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at MSY?
1.5% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.