SFO to MSY flight delays
San Francisco, CA (SFO) New Orleans, LA (MSY) · 1,911 miles
525 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
81.84%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.19%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
68 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
13 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In October it ran 46.4 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.
The route has been getting worse. The later months run 9 points less punctual than the earlier ones. A drift of that size is rarely weather; it is more often an airline adding frequencies faster than the airports can absorb them.
Only United 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 — 525 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, United Airlines arrived on time most often on SFO to MSY. Flights ran closest to schedule in October and worst in May.
Every airline on SFO 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 524 | 81.8% | 0.19% | 68 min | B |
| American Airlines | 1 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
Other routes from San Francisco
Common questions
Are flights from San Francisco to New Orleans usually delayed?
81.84% of flights on the SFO to MSY 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 San Francisco to New Orleans?
Only United Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 524 flights and 81.8% arriving on time.
How often are SFO to MSY flights cancelled?
0.19% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 2 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly San Francisco to New Orleans?
October, when 96.4% of flights arrived on time. The worst was May at 50%.
When SFO to MSY flights are late, how late are they?
About 68 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 SFO 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 →