Houston (HOU) to New Orleans (MSY)
Flight time
≈ 1h 24m
Bearing
84° E
Houston (HOU) to New Orleans (MSY) is 301 miles (485 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies HOU–MSY
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop HOU–MSY; the Boeing 737-700 was the most common aircraft at 44% of departures; flights ran 61% full.
Departures
386
April 2026
Seats
60,987
both directions
Passengers
36,907
both directions
Load factor
60.5%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies HOU–MSY?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop HOU–MSY departures in April 2026 (385), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- WN
Southwest Airlines
385 departures · 60,915 seats
Share of departures99.7%60.6%
Load
- DL
Delta Air Lines
1 departures · 72 seats
Share of departures0.3%0.0%
Load
What plane flies HOU–MSY?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew 44% of HOU–MSY departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-700
170 departures · 61.6% load
44.0% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
140 departures · 57.3% load
36.3% - Boeing 737-800
75 departures · 64.8% load
19.4% - Boeing 757-200
1 departures · 0.0% load
0.3%
How has HOU–MSY traffic changed?
Nonstop HOU–MSY departures fell from 412 in May 2025 to 386 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop HOU–MSY traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
412 departures · 44,762 passengers
66.7%
Load
June 2025
370 departures · 39,709 passengers
67.7%
Load
July 2025
362 departures · 37,014 passengers
64.3%
Load
August 2025
360 departures · 34,661 passengers
60.2%
Load
September 2025
353 departures · 36,579 passengers
64.5%
Load
October 2025
414 departures · 43,982 passengers
68.6%
Load
November 2025
397 departures · 36,364 passengers
57.7%
Load
December 2025
386 departures · 35,706 passengers
59.7%
Load
January 2026
371 departures · 29,934 passengers
49.5%
Load
February 2026
375 departures · 35,968 passengers
60.2%
Load
March 2026
398 departures · 37,653 passengers
60.8%
Load
April 2026
386 departures · 36,907 passengers
60.5%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
HOU → MSY
62.2% full
194 departures · 18,113 passengers
MSY → HOU
59.0% full
192 departures · 18,794 passengers
Nonstop HOU–MSY traffic has been filed with the US DOT since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through April 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work). The DOT publishes roughly three months in arrears.
The airports
New Orleans
US
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Coordinates
29.99°N, 90.26°W
Hemisphere
N · W
Frequently asked
How far is Houston (HOU) from New Orleans (MSY)?
HOU to MSY is 301 miles (485 km / 262 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from HOU to MSY?
A nonstop covers the 301-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 24m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies HOU–MSY?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew the largest share of departures (44.0%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (36.3%).
What mileage do I earn flying HOU–MSY?
Distance-based programs credit off the 301-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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