Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

Connect in the morning. The same one-hour layover misses 4% of the time at 8 am and 38% of the time at 9 pm.

Nonstops


American	DCA	MSY	2h 58m	75%	3.4%	1,243	Flying now
Southwest	DCA	MSY	2h 50m	73%	2.1%	704	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach New Orleans on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (New Orleans is 1 h behind Washington). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	DCA 07:15 → ORD 08:28UA 2638	1h 57m Chicago	ORD 10:25 → MSY 12:55UA 1850	6h 40m	100%	95%
United Details →	DCA 06:00 → IAH 08:13UA 1450	3h 42m Houston	IAH 11:55 → MSY 13:14UA 2385	8h 14m	99%	85%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → ATL 07:48DL 410	1h 10m Atlanta	ATL 08:58 → MSY 09:30DL 1424	4h 33m	96%	84%
Southwest Details →	DCA 06:00 → MCO 08:20WN 4580	1h 15m Orlando	MCO 09:35 → MSY 10:25WN 2668	5h 25m	98%	84%
Southwest Details →	DCA 06:15 → HOU 08:25WN 1432	2h 20m Houston	HOU 10:45 → MSY 12:00WN 2051	6h 45m	98%	84%
American Details →	DCA 05:00 → CLT 06:26AA 365	1h 11m Charlotte	CLT 07:37 → MSY 08:38AA 2180	4h 38m	95%	84%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:59 → ATL 08:51DL 330	2h 14m Atlanta	ATL 11:05 → MSY 11:42DL 2542	5h 43m	98%	82%
Delta Details →	DCA 09:39 → DTW 11:14DL 1558	3h 09m Detroit	DTW 14:23 → MSY 15:57DL 1652	7h 18m	98%	82%
Tight connection: often missed
Southwest Details →	DCA 13:10 → TPA 15:35WN 1464	1h 35m Tampa	TPA 17:10 → MSY 17:45WN 4038	5h 35m	74%	48%
American Details →	DCA 19:10 → MIA 22:00AA 3244	1h 05m Miami	MIA 23:05 → MSY 00:09 +1AA 2552	5h 59m	55%	33%
American Details →	DCA 18:58 → DFW 21:29AA 1158	1h 01m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → MSY 23:58AA 1472	6h 00m	62%	24%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

MCO · 1h 15m · leaves 06:00 2%

ATL · 1h 10m · leaves 06:00 4%

DTW · 1h 20m · leaves 06:00 5%

Afternoon and evening

DAL · 1h 20m · leaves 17:20 46%

MCO · 50m · leaves 13:05 55%

PHL · 1h 12m · leaves 17:18 55%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


Southwest WN 4969 DCA 06:55 → ATL Delta DL 2542 ATL 11:05 → MSY Connection details →	2h 15m	5h 47m	97%	83%
Southwest WN 4580 DCA 06:00 → MCO Frontier F9 3553 MCO 10:57 → MSY Connection details →	2h 37m	6h 51m	98%	82%
American AA 3273 DCA 07:45 → MCO Frontier F9 1431 MCO 13:53 → MSY Connection details →	3h 39m	8h 04m	100%	81%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON