Flights Monterrey to Houston (MTY-IAH): airlines, frequency

Flights Monterrey → Houston: airlines, fares, timing

The MTY–IAH route appears in our catalogue with 22 weekly departures (~3.1 per day) across 4 airlines, 1.5 h of block time and 662 km great-circle between Monterrey and Houston. Demand score: 8/10, classified as the Mexico-US paisano corridor.

Monterrey to Houston links northern Mexico’s industrial centre with Texas, with around 22 flights a week. The route is markedly corporate, with business travellers tied to manufacturing and energy, plus families visiting relatives. Block time is an hour and a half, the shortest international sector out of the city.

At ~3.1 departures a day, missing a flight rarely costs the whole day: there is room for the airline to move you onto another of its own services the same day. That density also cushions fares, because the seats compete against each other within a single day.

Houston runs 1 h ahead of Monterrey (UTC−5 against UTC−6 in July). The gap shifts with daylight saving: 0 h in January and 1 h in July, so a flight bought for one date and moved to another can land at a different local hour. Work out the real local arrival hour before booking ground transport, a hotel or an onward surface connection.

Airlines operating this route

4 airlines operate MTY–IAH: Aeromexico, United Airlines, Volaris, Southwest Airlines. 2 are full-service and 2 low-cost; included checked allowance ranges from 0 to 25 kg depending on the operator. Between them they run 22 weekly departures over 1.5 h of block time; alliances present: SkyTeam, Star Alliance.

Four carriers fly MTY-IAH: Aeroméxico and United Airlines operate full-service with baggage included; Southwest Airlines and Volaris fly it low-cost, each with its own baggage policy. United is based in Houston, giving the widest onward connections across the rest of the United States.

The honest comparison already has the bag in it. Between the most generous operator (25 kg) and the leanest (0 kg) there are 25 kg of difference in the base fare. Volaris includes no checked bag in the base fare, so its list price is not comparable with the rest until you add the fee. On a 1.5 h sector onboard comfort matters little; total cost is decided by baggage and, if you travel with family, by seating you together.

MXN fares — what to expect

There is no live cached fare for MTY-IAH, but 2 historical readings exist between 2026-W20 and 2026-W25: the observed floor in that window was $2,536 MXN and the ceiling $2,635 MXN. Only 34 of 109 corridors returned a price on the last pass.

With four carriers and high frequency, MTY-IAH is one of the best-supplied routes in the north and competitively priced. Corporate demand lifts fares mid-week. December and Holy Week are peaks; the rest of the year, three to five weeks usually secures a reasonable fare in MXN.

Get live fares on Aviasales →

Buying window: a general market rule of thumb. At demand 8/10 and 22 weekly departures the usual reference is 4 to 8 weeks ahead on ordinary dates and 8 to 12 weeks for December, Holy Week and summer. That is a general Mexican-market rule of thumb, not a measurement of MTY-IAH: our series records observed prices, not the lead time at which each ticket was bought. What the data does support is that the lower the frequency, the sooner cheap inventory runs out.

About Houston

Houston (IAH) appears in 5 routes in our catalogue from 5 Mexican airports, totalling 92 weekly departures. The lowest fare detected into IAH departs MEX at $2,677 MXN. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH, ICAO KIAH) lies 662 km from Monterrey and runs on America/Chicago.

Houston, in Texas, is a centre of the energy industry and a major medical hub, with strong commercial links to Monterrey. For Monterrey travellers it is first of all a business destination, and its airport connects easily across the rest of the United States.

Destination record. Houston-Bush — United hub, Texas paisano corridor. Mexican community in Heights, Pasadena, Pearland.

Leaving from a different Mexican airport moves the price more than switching airline. Houston is reachable from 5 catalogued origins and the fare floor is not the same across them: the airport with the most frequency concentrates the competition and usually sets the floor. Weigh the saving against the ground transfer and the hotel night that departing from another city sometimes adds.

Passenger rights on the MTY–IAH route

25% of the ticket price is the minimum Art. 47 Bis of the Ley de Aviación Civil requires on the MTY → IAH leg, which departs Mexico, for a delay over 4 h attributable to the airline. On the return from the United States there is no federal delay compensation.

What does apply on departure from Mexico. Mexico’s Ley de Aviación Civil (Art. 47 Bis), enforced by AFAC and PROFECO, covers flights taking off from Mexican territory regardless of the airline’s nationality: a delay over 4 hours attributable to the carrier entitles you to at least 25% of the ticket price, and from the first hour the airline owes assistance that escalates with duration. Keep the boarding pass and the purchase receipt — a claim stands on those two documents.

What US DOT does not cover. The United States has no federal delay compensation: the Department of Transportation regulates refunds — your money back when the airline cancels or significantly changes the flight and you decline the alternative — but it does not require a payout for the hours you lost, the way EU261 does. The single federal exception is involuntary denied boarding from oversales, priced under 14 CFR Part 250; that is a different mechanism from delay and is not triggered by a late departure.

Documents to sort out before buying

Verified 2026-05-18: with a Mexican passport, Estados Unidos requires Visa B1/B2 obligatoria, at a cost of $185 USD no reembolsable and a maximum stay of Decidido en POE; típicamente 6 meses. Confirm the current amount before paying. Buying the ticket before the document exists is the expensive mistake on this route.

Check the current amount before paying. The consular fee and stay limit above are the ones in our immigration file, last verified on 2026-05-18. Consulates revise those amounts without notice and publish no change calendar, so confirm the current figure at the official source on the day you pay. A receipt issued at the old rate is neither refunded nor credited — it is simply paid again.

The right order: document first, ticket second. A cheap fare does not survive a pending immigration formality. The airline will not refund a non-refundable ticket because your visa was denied or delayed, and the change fee usually exceeds the saving you were chasing. Consular appointment waits run 30–180 days depending on the post, and buying the ticket first does not speed them up. Buy once the document is issued, or buy a changeable fare and accept that the premium is the price of the risk.

FAQ

The 5 questions on this record are answered from catalogue figures for MTY-IAH: routes and weekly frequencies, minimum fares observed by the collector, checked-baggage allowances and the rights regime that applies on each leg. No answer adds data that is not in those sources.

Which airlines fly Monterrey to Houston? Direct MTY-IAH flights are operated by Aeromexico, United Airlines, Volaris, Southwest Airlines. Compare baggage, fares and schedules in the carrier table above.

How long is the MTY-IAH flight and how often does it run? Block time is about 1.5 hours. The MTY-IAH route runs roughly 22 flights per week across all carriers.

How far ahead should I book MTY-IAH for the best fare? As a general Mexican-market rule of thumb — not a measurement of this route — booking runs 4-8 weeks ahead for regular dates and 8-12 weeks for peak season (Holy Week, Christmas, paisano summer). See the month-by-month fare heatmap above.

What is the checked baggage allowance on MTY-IAH? It varies by carrier and fare class — full-service carriers on this route usually include 23-25 kg, while low-cost carriers sell it separately. Confirm the current policy on the airline’s site before booking. Paisano travelers should check each carrier’s additional-baggage allowance.

Do Mexican passport holders need a visa for USA? B1/B2 required. Check the latest requirements with the consulate before buying your ticket.

Related articles

• Flights from Monterrey
• Flights to Houston
• Baggage comparator

Published by FlightsMX Editorial Team. Last verified: May 2026. Fares are reference brackets — verify with the airline before booking.