IAH to LAX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Los Angeles International Airport · 1,379 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at IAH or LAX right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Houston (IAH) to Los Angeles (LAX) arrived on time 84% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.5% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- Delta Air Lines was the most punctual airline here (88% on time); Frontier Airlines was the least (74%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (96% on time); around 7pm did worst (73%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (89% on time) and Saturday the least (81%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (41%).
Which airline is most on time from IAH to LAX?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 100% | 0.0% | 0 min | 0.0% | 1 |
| Delta Air Lines | 88% | 1.1% | 10 min | 4.2% | 646 |
| United Airlines | 85% | 0.3% | 9 min | 4.4% | 3,439 |
| Spirit Airlines | 82% | 1.3% | 14 min | 5.7% | 394 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 80% | 0.5% | 17 min | 7.4% | 408 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74% | 0.9% | 17 min | 7.9% | 332 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am96%590 flights
- 7am91%638 flights
- 9am86%323 flights
- 10am85%97 flights
- 11am74%85 flights
- 12pm87%369 flights
- 2pm87%374 flights
- 3pm93%61 flights
- 4pm80%842 flights
- 5pm79%62 flights
- 6pm81%401 flights
- 7pm73%462 flights
- 8pm77%337 flights
- 9pm81%241 flights
- 10pm80%310 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday83%0.7% cancelled
- Tuesday86%0.4% cancelled
- Wednesday89%0.3% cancelled
- Thursday84%0.3% cancelled
- Friday83%0.6% cancelled
- Saturday81%0.3% cancelled
- Sunday82%0.9% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)41%
- Late-arriving aircraft35%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion18%
- Extreme weather7%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)50%
- Extreme weather50%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
IAH to LAX: common questions
- How often are IAH to LAX flights on time?
- 84% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Houston to Los Angeles cancelled?
- 0.5% of scheduled flights were cancelled (26 of 5,220).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 11 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 61 min behind schedule on average, and 5.0% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at IAH?
- Flights on this route spent 20 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: LAX to IAH — 85% on time
More flights from Houston
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: IAH → LAX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.