Flights Los Angeles → Washington
LAX → IAD
Route overview
The flight route from Los Angeles to Washington, operating since the opening of Los Angeles Airport in 1926, sees a total of 567 flights annually with an on-time performance rate of 86%. The mean delay for these flights is approximately 6.6 minutes, and the route utilizes various aircraft models including Boeing 737-800, Boeing 757-300, Airbus A320, Boeing 757-200, Boeing 737-900, and Airbus A319 to serve a destination airport that handles over 21 million passengers per year.
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) → Washington (IAD) route is operated by American Airlines, United Airlines. Across 713 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 1.68%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 19/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington (IAD) heads east for about 3,674 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 1m.
Departures from Los Angeles on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 41% of LAX-IAD flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 713 tracked LAX-IAD flights, 86% left on time with an average delay of 7 min and a 1.7% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating LAX-IAD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about LAX-IAD
On the Los Angeles (LAX) -> Washington (IAD) route, on-time performance is 86% with an average delay of 7 minutes, based on 713 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Los Angeles-Washington is 1.68% across 713 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: American Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Washington, 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.
