Route Reliability

Route reliability

Houston (IAH) to Orlando (MCO): which airline is most on time?

On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Houston, TX (IAH) to Orlando, FL (MCO), September 2025 to August 2026.

Historical performance Official DOT data through August 2026 · Not live flight status

Houston, TXOrlando, FL

Check a route

Three-letter airport codes, nonstop U.S. domestic flights. One direction at a time.

Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026

IAH to MCO

Houston, TX to Orlando, FL

On time
82.0%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
Cancelled
1.0%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
60+ min late
7.0%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
Scheduled flights
3,569in 12 months3 airlines
Most reliable airline
United Airlines85.5% on time · 2,443 flights

On time more often than the U.S. average, with fewer cancellations.

Compared with all U.S. flights, September 2025 to August 2026. “About average” means within 1.5 points for on time, 0.3 for cancelled and 1 for 60+ minutes late.

Airlines on this route

Ranked by on-time arrival

Airlines from IAH to MCO, September 2025 to August 2026. Rates are shares of all scheduled flights.
Airline On time Cancelled 60+ min late Avg delay when late Diverted Flights
1. United Airlines Most reliable 85.5% 0.5% 5.4% 71 min 0.6% 2,443
2. Spirit Airlines 77.5% 2.7% 8.4% 72 min 0.0% 546
3. Frontier Airlines 71.6% 1.6% 12.6% 104 min 0.2% 580

On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.

What this means

United Airlines has the strongest record on this route.

  • United Airlines had the best on-time record from Houston (IAH) to Orlando (MCO): 85.5% of its 2,443 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 71.6% for Frontier Airlines.
  • 1.0% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 100), 0.9 points lower than the U.S. average of 1.9%.
  • 7.0% of flights, about 1 in 14, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 80 min.
  • Overall, 82.0% of flights on this route arrived on time, 6.4 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
  • Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (85.8% on time) and July the least reliable (58.6%).
  • Cancellations peaked in July, when 3.0% of flights were cancelled.
  • Flights scheduled to depart 7 am to 8 am were the most punctual (94.3% on time); flights scheduled to depart 8 pm to 9 pm were the least (68.4%).
  • In the other direction, Orlando (MCO) to Houston (IAH), 82.6% of flights were on time and 1.0% were cancelled. Compare airlines MCO to IAH.

Best and worst months to fly IAH to MCO

Jan 79.6%
Feb 85.8%
Mar 75.3%
Apr 82.9%
May 70.4%
Jun 64.8%
Jul 58.6%
Aug 70.3%
Sep 84.3%
Oct 82.1%
Nov 84.7%
Dec 81.9%
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 82.0%
All airlines combined, by calendar month, September 2023 to August 2026 (3 years pooled). Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
January 79.6% 953
February 85.8% 881
March 75.3% 1,059
April 82.9% 881
May 70.4% 894
June 64.8% 859
July 58.6% 886
August 70.3% 844
September 84.3% 840
October 82.1% 920
November 84.7% 972
December 81.9% 999
Best and worst calendar month by airline, September 2023 to August 2026.
AirlineBest monthWorst month
United Airlines February (87.4%) July (60.3%)
Spirit Airlines October (84.3%) July (56.0%)
Frontier Airlines February (82.7%) July (50.8%)

Month by month, last 12 months

Sep 90.0%
Oct 85.7%
Nov 82.4%
Dec 83.1%
Jan 88.9%
Feb 87.4%
Mar 75.1%
Apr 86.9%
May 83.2%
Jun 73.9%
Jul 66.2%
Aug 78.0%
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
All airlines combined, September 2025 to August 2026. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Sep 2025 90.0% 271
Oct 2025 85.7% 308
Nov 2025 82.4% 290
Dec 2025 83.1% 319
Jan 2026 88.9% 350
Feb 2026 87.4% 318
Mar 2026 75.1% 366
Apr 2026 86.9% 312
May 2026 83.2% 274
Jun 2026 73.9% 257
Jul 2026 66.2% 263
Aug 2026 78.0% 241

Best and worst departure times

<6a 94.0%
6a Insufficient sample
7a 94.3%
8a 92.4%
9a 87.1%
10a 90.8%
11a 68.1%
12p 83.9%
1p 70.7%
2p 79.5%
3p Insufficient sample
4p 80.5%
5p 80.5%
6p 79.2%
7p 72.9%
8p 68.4%
9p 62.0%
10p Insufficient sample
Share of scheduled flights on time
By scheduled local departure hour at IAH, September 2025 to August 2026. Hours with no scheduled flights are omitted. Scale starts at zero.
Show as table
PeriodOn timeFlights
Departing before 6 am 94.0% 84
Departing 6 am to 7 am Insufficient sample 2
Departing 7 am to 8 am 94.3% 385
Departing 8 am to 9 am 92.4% 262
Departing 9 am to 10 am 87.1% 217
Departing 10 am to 11 am 90.8% 174
Departing 11 am to noon 68.1% 69
Departing noon to 1 pm 83.9% 429
Departing 1 pm to 2 pm 70.7% 133
Departing 2 pm to 3 pm 79.5% 375
Departing 3 pm to 4 pm Insufficient sample 30
Departing 4 pm to 5 pm 80.5% 379
Departing 5 pm to 6 pm 80.5% 128
Departing 6 pm to 7 pm 79.2% 371
Departing 7 pm to 8 pm 72.9% 288
Departing 8 pm to 9 pm 68.4% 171
Departing 9 pm to 10 pm 62.0% 71
Departing 10 pm to 11 pm Insufficient sample 1
Woman at an airport window watching a plane take off
Photo: Depositphotos (licensed stock, illustrative only). Credits

Sources & data dates

Source
U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
Period
September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
Data through
August 2026
Processed
2026-11-03
Scope
Nonstop scheduled flights from Houston, TX (IAH) to Orlando, FL (MCO), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
Method
Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.

Independent reference site. No government or airline affiliation or endorsement.