Flights Los Angeles → Houston
LAX → IAH
How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Houston?
The flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Houston (IAH) takes 2h 46m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Los Angeles to Houston features a high on-time performance rate of 86%, with an average delay of just 6.8 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 1280 flights operated by various aircraft models including the Canadair Regional Jet 700, Airbus A320, Boeing 737 series, and larger jets like the Boeing 757 and Airbus A319, serving one of the busiest airports in Houston with over 40 million passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Los Angeles (LAX) → Houston (IAH) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines. Across 2975 flights monitored in recent months, 86% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 7 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.98%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 22.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Houston the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Houston: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to Houston (IAH) heads east for about 2,215 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 46m.
Departures from Los Angeles on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 40% of LAX-IAH flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Houston it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 2,975 tracked LAX-IAH flights, 86% left on time with an average delay of 7 min and a 2.0% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 85% | -1 min | 0.5% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
| Spirit Airlines (NK) | 66% | 19 min | 3.4% |
Airlines operating LAX-IAH
Airports
Frequently asked questions about LAX-IAH
The flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Houston (IAH) takes 2h 46m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Los Angeles (LAX) -> Houston (IAH) route, on-time performance is 86% with an average delay of 7 minutes, based on 2975 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Los Angeles-Houston is 1.98% across 2975 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 4 airlines: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Houston, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
