STL to LAX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport · 1,592 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at STL or LAX right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from St. Louis (STL) to Los Angeles (LAX) arrived on time 73% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.3% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (75% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (73%).
- Departures scheduled around 10am did best (88% on time); around 9pm did worst (40%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (83% on time) and Monday the least (60%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (56%).
Which airline is most on time from STL 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 75% | 0.8% | 22 min | 6.0% | 354 |
| Southwest Airlines | 73% | 0.0% | 15 min | 6.7% | 673 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am90%20 flights
- 6am76%330 flights
- 7am78%77 flights
- 8am87%160 flights
- 9am74%31 flights
- 10am88%73 flights
- 1pm86%14 flights
- 2pm64%36 flights
- 3pm53%15 flights
- 6pm83%70 flights
- 7pm62%30 flights
- 8pm58%45 flights
- 9pm40%100 flights
- 10pm28%18 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday60%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday82%0.7% cancelled
- Wednesday83%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday74%0.6% cancelled
- Friday74%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday75%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday69%0.6% 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)56%
- Late-arriving aircraft26%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion10%
- Extreme weather8%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather100%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
STL to LAX: common questions
- How often are STL to LAX flights on time?
- 73% 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 St. Louis to Los Angeles cancelled?
- 0.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (3 of 1,027).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 17 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 58 min behind schedule on average, and 6.5% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at STL?
- Flights on this route spent 14 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: LAX to STL — 76% on time
More flights from St. Louis
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: STL → LAX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.