Flights Washington → Los Angeles
IAD → LAX
How long is the flight from Washington to Los Angeles?
The flight from Washington (IAD) to Los Angeles (LAX) takes 4h 53m 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
This flight route operates between Washington and Los Angeles, featuring a high on-time performance rate of 81%, with an average delay of just 9.6 minutes per flight. The route sees approximately 566 flights annually, utilizing a diverse fleet that includes aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800, Boeing 757-200/300, Airbus A319, and Airbus A320.
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 Washington (IAD) → Los Angeles (LAX) route is operated by American Airlines, United Airlines. Across 1520 flights monitored in recent months, 83% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 10 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.84%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Los Angeles: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (IAD) to Los Angeles (LAX) heads west for about 3,674 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 53m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 33% of IAD-LAX flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Los Angeles it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,520 tracked IAD-LAX flights, 83% left on time with an average delay of 10 min and a 1.8% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
Check the risk of a specific flight.
Flexible on this trip? Compare flights
Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating IAD-LAX
Airports
Frequently asked questions about IAD-LAX
The flight from Washington (IAD) to Los Angeles (LAX) takes 4h 53m 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 Washington (IAD) -> Los Angeles (LAX) route, on-time performance is 83% with an average delay of 10 minutes, based on 1520 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Los Angeles is 1.84% across 1520 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 Los Angeles, 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.
