RIC to MCO flight delays
Richmond, VA (RIC) Orlando, FL (MCO) · 667 miles
1,202 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
71.84%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
2%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
78 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
23 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Southwest Airlines arrived on time 20.1 points more often than Spirit Airlines over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The season swings this route hard. In September it ran 30.1 points more punctual than in February — 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.
This route does worse than its own airport. RIC as a whole runs 7 points more punctual than these flights, which points at something specific to the route — the time of day it is scheduled, or the aircraft that feed it — rather than the airport.
Flights from Richmond to Orlando run late more often than the average route, though not severely.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on RIC to MCO. Spirit Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in February.
Every airline on RIC to MCO
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue Airways | 676 | 74.16% | 2.37% | 82 min | D |
| Southwest Airlines | 320 | 76.51% | 0.94% | 60 min | C |
| Spirit Airlines | 202 | 56.41% | 2.48% | 85 min | F |
| Frontier Airlines | 4 | 75% | 0% | 19 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
MCO to RIC Orlando back to Richmond 68.68% on time FOther routes from Richmond
Common questions
Are flights from Richmond to Orlando usually delayed?
71.84% of flights on the RIC to MCO route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Richmond to Orlando?
Southwest Airlines, at 76.51% on time across 320 flights. The least punctual on the route was Spirit Airlines at 56.41%.
How often are RIC to MCO flights cancelled?
2% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 20 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Richmond to Orlando?
September, when 88.8% of flights arrived on time. The worst was February at 58.7%.
When RIC to MCO flights are late, how late are they?
About 78 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 RIC to MCO 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 →