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 75-minute layover misses 4% of the time at 12 pm and 15% of the time at 5 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


United	MSY	SFO	4h 58m	77%	0.6%	523	Flying now
American	MSY	SFO	–	0%few flights	0.0%	1	Not flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach San Francisco on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (San Francisco is 2 h behind New Orleans). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	MSY 08:00 → IAD 11:33UA 1392	3h 18m Dulles	IAD 14:51 → SFO 17:38UA 2862	11h 38m	99%	81%
United Details →	MSY 05:15 → IAH 06:34UA 2744	46m Houston	IAH 07:20 → SFO 09:25UA 1768	6h 10m	90%	80%
Delta + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	MSY 17:20 → LAX 19:18DL 2096	3h 14m Los Angeles	LAX 22:32 → SFO 23:59AA 6510 · flown by SkyWest	8h 39m	98%	79%
United Details →	MSY 17:35 → IAH 19:02UA 2341	2h 57m Houston	IAH 21:59 → SFO 00:05 +1UA 1609	8h 30m	98%	78%
United Details →	MSY 12:07 → IAH 13:26UA 2253	2h 04m Houston	IAH 15:30 → SFO 17:35UA 589	7h 28m	95%	76%
United Details →	MSY 08:04 → DEN 10:05UA 1376	3h 20m Denver	DEN 13:25 → SFO 15:09UA 1812	9h 05m	99%	75%
American + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	MSY 07:43 → ORD 10:30AA 3722 · flown by Envoy	4h 00m Chicago	ORD 14:30 → SFO 17:19UA 1577	11h 36m	100%	73%
Southwest Details →	MSY 05:20 → DAL 06:45WN 2964	1h 00m Dallas	DAL 07:45 → SFO 09:30WN 485	6h 10m	82%	72%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	MSY 16:41 → PHL 20:39AA 2061	1h 11m Philadelphia	PHL 21:50 → SFO 00:59 +1AA 3295	10h 18m	69%	53%
Delta Details →	MSY 17:07 → ATL 19:45DL 924	57m Atlanta	ATL 20:42 → SFO 22:49DL 545	7h 42m	58%	35%
American Details →	MSY 18:01 → DFW 19:55AA 2194	49m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 20:44 → SFO 22:30AA 2228	6h 27m	24%	4%

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

ATL · 1h 13m · leaves 09:13 4%

IAD · 1h 07m · leaves 08:00 6%

IAH · 46m · leaves 05:15 10%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 57m · leaves 17:07 42%

PHX · 48m · leaves 18:14 49%

DFW · 49m · leaves 18:01 76%

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.

The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →

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