Flight profile · Delta Air Lines
DL2542
Atlanta (ATL) to New Orleans (MSY) · scheduled 11:05 AM – 11:54 AM
How DL2542 performs
1,043 operations, 2023-07-01 to 2026-06-30.
DL2542 arrived on time 82.9% of the time, against 78.3% for all ATL → MSY flights — this specific departure is 4.6 percentage points better than the route as a whole. Against Delta Air Lines’s own flights on this route it is 3.3 points better.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · 1,043 operations between 2023-07-01 to 2026-06-30
Against the rest of the route
| On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe | Flights | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL2542 | 82.9% | 1.34% | -4 min | 3.7% | 1,043 |
| Delta Air Lines on ATL → MSY | 79.6% | 1.37% | -4 min | 6.2% | 9,623 |
| All ATL → MSY flights | 78.3% | 1.24% | -4 min | 6.7% | 13,166 |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · 2023-07-01 to 2026-06-30
By day of week
Does DL2542 run worse on particular days?
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Monday the least, a gap of 12.3 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · 2023-07-01 to 2026-06-30 · Days with fewer than 120 operations are not scored.
Other routes DL2542 has flown
A flight number is a slot in a schedule, and carriers reassign it. These are the other city pairs this number served in the analysis period.
| Route | Operated | Flights | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSY→ATL New Orleans to Atlanta | 2023-07-01 – 2026-06-30 | 1,042 | 82.4% |
| FSD→MSP Sioux Falls to Minneapolis | 2023-10-30 – 2023-10-31 | 2 | — |
Because the same number has served different journeys, the statistics above describe only the route DL2542 currently operates. Blending them would produce an average of two different flights.
Why DL2542 runs late
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on this flight.
crew, maintenance, boarding, fuelling — within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DL2542 on ATL → MSY. A single late flight can carry more than one cause, and only delays of fifteen minutes or more are attributed at all.
Other departures on ATL → MSY
Same airports, same journey — and not the same odds of arriving on time.
| Flight | Airline | On time | Median arrival | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL3128 | Delta Air Lines | 90.5% | 9 min early | 699 |
| DL1424 | Delta Air Lines | 86.0% | 7 min early | 687 |
| DL2224 | Delta Air Lines | 75.4% | 3 min early | 1,068 |
| DL1450 | Delta Air Lines | 69.6% | 1 min early | 645 |
Every departure listed carries at least 600 operations, so the comparison is between figures that mean something. Schedules change; confirm the departure still operates before booking around this.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 1,043 records of DL2542 operating ATL → MSY, published by the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from the on-time rate and reported separately. Flight numbers are resolved as carrier plus number plus route, because the same number serves different routes over time.
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