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 84% on time.

Nonstops


United	MSY	IAH	1h 25m	84%	0.4%	2,921	Flying now
Spirit	MSY	IAH	1h 24m	83%	0.0%	121	Not flying now
Frontier	MSY	IAH	1h 30m	81%few flights	3.7%	27	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Houston on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Delta Details →	MSY 06:20 → ATL 08:54DL 1534	3h 36m Atlanta	ATL 12:30 → IAH 13:38DL 1572	7h 18m	100%	83%
United Details →	MSY 08:00 → IAD 11:33UA 1392	1h 17m Dulles	IAD 12:50 → IAH 15:11UA 1535	7h 11m	95%	80%
Delta Details →	MSY 05:20 → ATL 07:53DL 1547	2h 12m Atlanta	ATL 10:05 → IAH 11:18DL 1682	5h 58m	98%	79%
United Details →	MSY 06:30 → ORD 09:12UA 2420	1h 13m Chicago	ORD 10:25 → IAH 13:23UA 2638	6h 53m	94%	77%
Delta Details →	MSY 17:07 → ATL 19:45DL 924	2h 59m Atlanta	ATL 22:44 → IAH 23:56DL 1601	6h 49m	96%	72%
United Details →	MSY 08:04 → DEN 10:05UA 1376	1h 29m Denver	DEN 11:34 → IAH 15:09UA 1599	7h 05m	92%	71%
American Details →	MSY 09:27 → CLT 12:28AA 2200	2h 24m Charlotte	CLT 14:52 → IAH 16:38AA 1920	7h 10m	96%	70%
United Details →	MSY 06:00 → EWR 10:04UA 1437	49m Newark	EWR 10:53 → IAH 13:38UA 556	7h 38m	90%	68%
Tight connection: often missed
Frontier Details →	MSY 17:16 → ATL 20:10F9 2972	1h 15m Atlanta	ATL 21:25 → IAH 22:48F9 4075	5h 32m	55%	32%
American Details →	MSY 18:01 → DFW 19:55AA 2194	1h 15m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 21:10 → IAH 22:24AA 2209	4h 23m	49%	22%
American Details →	MSY 17:19 → ORD 20:16AA 2198	51m Chicago	ORD 21:07 → IAH 23:51AA 3144	6h 32m	35%	16%

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

IAD · 1h 17m · leaves 08:00 5%

ATL · 1h 11m · leaves 06:20 6%

EWR · 49m · leaves 06:00 10%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 1h 15m · leaves 17:16 45%

DFW · 1h 02m · leaves 19:58 58%

ORD · 51m · leaves 17:19 65%

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 3011 MSY 07:05 → MCO United UA 1493 MCO 11:57 → IAH Connection details →	2h 02m	6h 24m	98%	92%
Delta DL 1547 MSY 05:20 → ATL United UA 425 ATL 11:37 → IAH Connection details →	3h 44m	7h 27m	99%	88%
Southwest WN 3022 MSY 06:10 → TPA United UA 2421 TPA 11:55 → IAH Connection details →	3h 10m	7h 12m	97%	86%

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