MSY to STL flight delays
New Orleans, LA (MSY) St. Louis, MO (STL) · 604 miles
731 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
81.82%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.41%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
51 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
10 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In January it ran 23.5 points more punctual than in May — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
Only Southwest Airlines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
The New Orleans to St. Louis route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on MSY to STL. Flights ran closest to schedule in January and worst in May.
Every airline on MSY to STL
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 731 | 81.82% | 0.41% | 51 min | B |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
STL to MSY St. Louis back to New Orleans 83.7% on time BOther routes from New Orleans
Common questions
Are flights from New Orleans to St. Louis usually delayed?
81.82% of flights on the MSY to STL route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from New Orleans to St. Louis?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 731 flights and 81.82% arriving on time.
How often are MSY to STL flights cancelled?
0.41% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 4 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly New Orleans to St. Louis?
January, when 95.2% of flights arrived on time. The worst was May at 71.7%.
When MSY to STL flights are late, how late are they?
About 51 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on MSY to STL during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →