Houston (IAH) to New Orleans (MSY)
Flight time
≈ 1h 24m
Bearing
89° E
Houston (IAH) to New Orleans (MSY) is 304 miles (489 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies IAH–MSY
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, United Airlines operated the most departures, one of 4 carriers flying nonstop IAH–MSY; the Boeing 737-800 was the most common aircraft at 24% of departures; flights ran 65% full.
Departures
546
April 2026
Seats
88,909
both directions
Passengers
57,742
both directions
Load factor
65.0%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies IAH–MSY?
United Airlines operated the most nonstop IAH–MSY departures in April 2026 (531), one of 4 carriers on the route.
- UA
United Airlines
531 departures · 86,513 seats
Share of departures97.3%65.4%
Load
- F9
Frontier Airlines
8 departures · 1,792 seats
Share of departures1.5%45.5%
Load
- YV
Mesa Airlines
6 departures · 432 seats
Share of departures1.1%48.8%
Load
- AA
American Airlines
1 departures · 172 seats
Share of departures0.2%65.7%
Load
What plane flies IAH–MSY?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-800 flew 24% of IAH–MSY departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-800
133 departures · 68.4% load
24.4% - Airbus A320
109 departures · 62.4% load
20.0% - Boeing 737-900ER
106 departures · 66.8% load
19.4% - Boeing 737-900
92 departures · 70.1% load
16.9% - Airbus A319
61 departures · 54.8% load
11.2% - Airbus A321neo
13 departures · 40.9% load
2.4% - Boeing 737-700
9 departures · 63.8% load
1.7% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
9 departures · 76.9% load
1.7% - Embraer E175
6 departures · 48.8% load
1.1% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
5 departures · 52.7% load
0.9% - Airbus A321
2 departures · 36.5% load
0.4% - Airbus A320neo
1 departures · 90.3% load
0.2%
How has IAH–MSY traffic changed?
Nonstop IAH–MSY departures rose from 533 in May 2025 to 546 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop IAH–MSY traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
533 departures · 61,420 passengers
74.6%
Load
June 2025
537 departures · 62,802 passengers
75.7%
Load
July 2025
541 departures · 56,917 passengers
73.8%
Load
August 2025
541 departures · 48,656 passengers
62.6%
Load
September 2025
564 departures · 56,016 passengers
63.3%
Load
October 2025
575 departures · 65,905 passengers
72.0%
Load
November 2025
510 departures · 55,227 passengers
67.8%
Load
December 2025
495 departures · 55,014 passengers
73.0%
Load
January 2026
482 departures · 45,247 passengers
64.4%
Load
February 2026
478 departures · 51,195 passengers
71.9%
Load
March 2026
525 departures · 55,145 passengers
69.1%
Load
April 2026
546 departures · 57,742 passengers
65.0%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
IAH → MSY
66.9% full
273 departures · 29,778 passengers
MSY → IAH
63.0% full
273 departures · 27,964 passengers
Nonstop IAH–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 (IAH) from New Orleans (MSY)?
IAH to MSY is 304 miles (489 km / 264 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from IAH to MSY?
A nonstop covers the 304-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 IAH–MSY?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-800 flew the largest share of departures (24.4%), followed by the Airbus A320 (20.0%).
What mileage do I earn flying IAH–MSY?
Distance-based programs credit off the 304-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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