SAN to MSY flight delays
San Diego, CA (SAN) New Orleans, LA (MSY) · 1,600 miles
345 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
71.35%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.87%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
52 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
17 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In April it ran 35.1 points more punctual than in December — 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.
The route has been getting better. The later months in the record run 15.2 points more punctual than the earlier ones, which usually means a schedule that was too tight has been given more room.
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.
This is a thin route — 345 flights across the whole period. On a route this infrequent a cancellation is far more costly than the rate suggests, because the next departure may not be the same day.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on SAN to MSY. Flights ran closest to schedule in April and worst in December.
Every airline on SAN to MSY
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 | 345 | 71.35% | 0.87% | 52 min | D |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
MSY to SAN New Orleans back to San Diego 70.06% on time DOther routes from San Diego
Common questions
Are flights from San Diego to New Orleans usually delayed?
71.35% of flights on the SAN to MSY 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 airlines fly from San Diego to New Orleans?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 345 flights and 71.35% arriving on time.
How often are SAN to MSY flights cancelled?
0.87% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 9 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly San Diego to New Orleans?
April, when 86.7% of flights arrived on time. The worst was December at 51.6%.
When SAN to MSY flights are late, how late are they?
About 52 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 SAN to MSY 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 →