Flights Houston → New Orleans
IAH → MSY
How long is the flight from Houston to New Orleans?
The flight from Houston (IAH) to New Orleans (MSY) takes 46 min on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Houston to New Orleans operates with a high level of punctuality, with 85% of flights arriving on time. Over the past year, there have been 770 total flights on this route, featuring an average delay of just 5.3 minutes. The aircraft used include Canadair Regional Jet 700, Airbus A320, Boeing 737-700 and -800, Embraer 170, and Airbus A319, serving a destination airport that sees over eleven million passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Houston (IAH) → New Orleans (MSY) route is operated by Air Canada, Lufthansa Cargo, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1817 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 10 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.54%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At New Orleans the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Houston the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to New Orleans: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Houston (IAH) to New Orleans (MSY) heads east for about 489 km, a flight time of roughly 46m.
Departures from Houston on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 36% of IAH-MSY flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Houston the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into New Orleans it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,817 tracked IAH-MSY flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 10 min and a 1.5% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| Lufthansa Cargo (LH) | 74% | 21 min | 0.0% |
Airlines operating IAH-MSY
Airports
Frequently asked questions about IAH-MSY
The flight from Houston (IAH) to New Orleans (MSY) takes 46 min on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Houston (IAH) -> New Orleans (MSY) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 10 minutes, based on 1817 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Houston-New Orleans is 1.54% across 1817 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 4 airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa Cargo, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at New Orleans, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
