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

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 86% on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Delta	DTW	MSY	2h 35m	86%	1.8%	628	Flying now
Spirit	DTW	MSY	2h 31m	84%	0.6%	160	Not flying now
Frontier	DTW	MSY	2h 41m	96%few flights	0.0%	23	Not 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 Detroit). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	DTW 05:30 → DEN 06:35WN 1778	1h 25m Denver	DEN 08:00 → MSY 11:45WN 1642	7h 12m	97%	93%
Southwest Details →	DTW 07:00 → STL 07:35WN 1783	50m St Louis	STL 08:25 → MSY 10:10WN 4780	4h 10m	96%	90%
United Details →	DTW 07:05 → ORD 07:42UA 5553 · flown by SkyWest	2h 43m Chicago	ORD 10:25 → MSY 12:55UA 1850	6h 50m	95%	89%
United Details →	DTW 06:15 → IAH 08:11UA 1229	3h 44m Houston	IAH 11:55 → MSY 13:14UA 2385	7h 59m	100%	86%
Delta Details →	DTW 05:17 → ATL 07:10DL 2375	1h 48m Atlanta	ATL 08:58 → MSY 09:30DL 1424	5h 16m	95%	85%
Delta Details →	DTW 06:17 → ATL 08:12DL 1611	2h 53m Atlanta	ATL 11:05 → MSY 11:42DL 2542	6h 25m	98%	84%
Southwest Details →	DTW 05:50 → BWI 07:20WN 4534	2h 05m Baltimore	BWI 09:25 → MSY 11:05WN 4692	6h 15m	100%	83%
Delta Details →	DTW 09:00 → MSP 09:55DL 2258	2h 50m Minneapolis	MSP 12:45 → MSY 15:25DL 2695	7h 25m	99%	81%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DTW 06:17 → ATL 08:12DL 1611	46m Atlanta	ATL 08:58 → MSY 09:30DL 1424	4h 16m	74%	66%
Delta Details →	DTW 12:25 → ATL 14:23DL 2188	56m Atlanta	ATL 15:19 → MSY 15:57DL 3146	4h 32m	67%	52%
American Details →	DTW 19:51 → DFW 21:44AA 1786	46m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 22:30 → MSY 23:58AA 1472	5h 07m	36%	14%

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

STL · 50m · leaves 07:00 4%

BOS · 1h 18m · leaves 07:30 8%

JFK · 1h 12m · leaves 06:00 12%

Afternoon and evening

MDW · 1h 05m · leaves 20:25 55%

STL · 1h 00m · leaves 20:15 57%

DFW · 46m · leaves 19:51 64%

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.


American AA 6465 DTW 06:45 → ORD United UA 1850 ORD 10:25 → MSY Connection details →	2h 55m	7h 10m	96%	88%
Delta DL 1529 DTW 16:15 → IAH United UA 2474 IAH 22:15 → MSY Connection details →	3h 55m	8h 11m	98%	84%
United UA 3483 DTW 05:30 → ORD American AA 4748 ORD 09:05 → MSY Connection details →	3h 12m	7h 10m	100%	83%

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