Route profile
MSY→CLT
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from New Orleans to Charlotte, 651 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 43% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 5,622 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
MSY → CLT arrives on time 81.0% of the time; the return trip, CLT → MSY, arrives on time 75.9% of the time, a 5.0-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
MSY → CLT spends 28.0 minutes on the ground on a 651-mile trip: 14.0 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at MSY and 14.0 minutes from touchdown to gate at CLT.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route has stayed remarkably steady year over year, a smaller swing than 98% of 5,368 comparable routes.
82.2% on time over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), against 82.3% in the 12 months before (2024-08 to 2025-07), virtually unchanged.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 5,368 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where MSY to CLT differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
MSY to CLT is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 3 PM: 81.0% arrive on time, 7.4 points ahead of the 73.6% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.3 points.
MSY to CLT struggles most at 1 PM: 71.0% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 6.9 points behind the 77.9% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 6.1 points.
MSY to CLT holds up on Wednesdays better than routes of similar length do: 86.6% on time to their 80.9%, a 5.7 points lead. Against all other routes the gap is 5.8 points.
January is kinder to MSY to CLT than to routes of similar length: 86.3% on time against 79.1%, 7.2 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 7.2 points.
American Airlines does better on MSY to CLT than on its routes of similar length: 80.7% on time here, 74.1% there, 6.6 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 5.6 points.
MSY to CLT against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 3 PM departures | 81.0% | routes of similar length | 73.6% | +7.4 pts | 348 here, 123,655 there |
| Hour: 1 PM departures | 71.0% | routes of similar length | 77.9% | −6.9 pts | 396 here, 122,656 there |
| Weekday: Wednesday | 86.6% | routes of similar length | 80.9% | +5.7 pts | 724 here, 292,638 there |
| Month: January | 86.3% | routes of similar length | 79.1% | +7.2 pts | 416 here, 151,149 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 80.7% | routes of similar length | 74.1% | +6.6 pts | 5,230 here, 316,909 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 651 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why MSY → CLT flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
MSY → CLT cancelled 86 of 5,622 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 65. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 80.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 81 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 86 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
69 cancellations, 80.2% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
14 cancellations, 16.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
3 cancellations, 3.5% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
86 coded cancellations were recorded on MSY → CLT; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 7 min early
Percentiles over 5,622 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at CLT after arriving from MSY.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 33% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 7.5% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.9% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.53% of the time and diverts 0.12% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,529 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 42 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 5,622 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
MSY → CLT flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 90.3% of the time, against 63.5% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 26.8 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 91.3% on time from 434 flights
- 6 AM: 91.6% on time from 295 flights
- 7 AM: 89.2% on time from 762 flights
- 8 AM: too few flights to score
- 9 AM: 89.6% on time from 770 flights
- 10 AM: 84.6% on time from 614 flights
- 11 AM: 89.3% on time from 198 flights
- 12 PM: 86.8% on time from 198 flights
- 1 PM: 71.0% on time from 402 flights
- 2 PM: 72.9% on time from 296 flights
- 3 PM: 81.0% on time from 349 flights
- 4 PM: 66.9% on time from 417 flights
- 5 PM: too few flights to score
- 6 PM: 63.7% on time from 774 flights
- 7 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why MSY → CLT runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for MSY → CLT. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on MSY → CLT, at 50.6%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 90.3% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 63.5%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 5,319 | 80.7% | 1.54% | -7 min | 7.7% |
| Spirit Airlines | 271 | 86.5% | 1.48% | -12 min | 5.2% |
American Airlines flew 95.2% of the 5,590 flights listed.
Spirit Airlines arrived on time 5.8 percentage points more often than American Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA1266 American Airlines | 7:00 AM | 723 | 90.1% |
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 9.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 86.3%
- Feb: 84.5%
- Mar: 81.4%
- Apr: 85.3%
- May: 76.2%
- Jun: 75.1%
- Jul: 69.3%
- Aug: 74.4%
- Sep: 83.2%
- Oct: 87.7%
- Nov: 88.3%
- Dec: 82.1%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 19.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 65.2% from 148 flights
- August 2023: too few flights to score (119)
- September 2023: too few flights to score (100)
- October 2023: 90.7% from 140 flights
- November 2023: 87.9% from 142 flights
- December 2023: 89.6% from 126 flights
- January 2024: 85.1% from 142 flights
- February 2024: 87.9% from 141 flights
- March 2024: 78.6% from 154 flights
- April 2024: 80.5% from 170 flights
- May 2024: 67.2% from 182 flights
- June 2024: 76.7% from 151 flights
- July 2024: 57.7% from 147 flights
- August 2024: 67.2% from 124 flights
- September 2024: 79.5% from 124 flights
- October 2024: 87.4% from 182 flights
- November 2024: 91.0% from 167 flights
- December 2024: 80.2% from 178 flights
- January 2025: 88.4% from 179 flights
- February 2025: 83.6% from 171 flights
- March 2025: 83.1% from 207 flights
- April 2025: 85.6% from 197 flights
- May 2025: 78.4% from 198 flights
- June 2025: 78.1% from 155 flights
- July 2025: 79.4% from 166 flights
- August 2025: 81.3% from 128 flights
- September 2025: too few flights to score (107)
- October 2025: 85.4% from 164 flights
- November 2025: 85.6% from 155 flights
- December 2025: 78.1% from 147 flights
- January 2026: 84.7% from 126 flights
- February 2026: 82.1% from 138 flights
- March 2026: 82.1% from 151 flights
- April 2026: 89.9% from 168 flights
- May 2026: 83.4% from 164 flights
- June 2026: 69.5% from 128 flights
- July 2026: 72.8% from 136 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 82.2% against 82.3% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 5,622 MSY → CLT flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed