Route profile
FLL→LAX
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles, 2,343 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 50% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 6,395 flights. How this is calculated
FLL → LAX arrives on time 76.7% of the time; the return trip, LAX → FLL, arrives on time 77.5% of the time.
FLL → LAX spends 28.8 minutes on the ground on a 2,343-mile trip: 18.4 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at FLL and 10.4 minutes from touchdown to gate at LAX.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
The airline matters unusually much on this route, a wider carrier-to-carrier gap than 98% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 80.6% of the time, against 56.4% for Spirit Airlines, flying the exact same route.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 2,692 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where FLL to LAX differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
FLL to LAX struggles most at 9 PM: 61.1% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 17.9 points behind the 79.0% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.4 points.
FLL to LAX is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 8 PM: 76.3% arrive on time, 7.1 points ahead of the 69.2% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.9 points.
Sunday is the day FLL to LAX slips furthest against routes of similar length, 71.6% on time where they average 76.2%, 4.6 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 3.2 points.
In March, FLL to LAX runs 8.7 points below routes of similar length, 70.7% on time to 79.4%. Against all other routes the gap is 7.2 points.
July is kinder to FLL to LAX than to routes of similar length: 75.5% on time against 70.4%, 5.1 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 5.8 points.
FLL to LAX against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 9 PM departures | 61.1% | routes of similar length | 79.0% | −17.9 pts | 311 here, 57,368 there |
| Hour: 8 PM departures | 76.3% | routes of similar length | 69.2% | +7.1 pts | 758 here, 33,126 there |
| Weekday: Sunday | 71.6% | routes of similar length | 76.2% | −4.6 pts | 927 here, 156,068 there |
| Month: March | 70.7% | routes of similar length | 79.4% | −8.7 pts | 605 here, 84,880 there |
| Month: July | 75.5% | routes of similar length | 70.4% | +5.1 pts | 660 here, 128,555 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 2,343 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why FLL → LAX flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
FLL → LAX cancelled 53 of 6,395 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 121. The reason filed most often was the airline, 62.3% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 194 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 53 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
33 cancellations, 62.3% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
14 cancellations, 26.4% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
6 cancellations, 11.3% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
53 coded cancellations were recorded on FLL → LAX; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
47 min late
against a median of 6 min early
Percentiles over 6,395 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at LAX after arriving from FLL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 39% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 22% | High risk |
| 60 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 7.5% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.5% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 0.83% of the time and diverts 0.16% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 6,332 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 47 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 6,395 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
FLL → LAX flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 83.6% of the time, against 60.8% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 22.8 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 85.1% on time from 596 flights
- 7 AM: 85.8% on time from 996 flights
- 8 AM: 79.7% on time from 783 flights
- 9 AM: 81.7% on time from 478 flights
- 10 AM: 84.6% on time from 254 flights
- 11 AM: 83.8% on time from 223 flights
- 12 PM: 72.7% on time from 167 flights
- 1 PM to 3 PM: too few flights to score
- 4 PM: 68.9% on time from 232 flights
- 5 PM: 75.5% on time from 583 flights
- 6 PM: 61.5% on time from 379 flights
- 7 PM: 56.8% on time from 427 flights
- 8 PM: 76.3% on time from 770 flights
- 9 PM: 61.1% on time from 315 flights
- 10 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why FLL → LAX runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for FLL → LAX. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on FLL → LAX, at 37.4%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 83.6% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 60.8%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue | 4,558 | 78.6% | 0.57% | -8 min | 7.4% |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,072 | 80.6% | 0.75% | -5 min | 5.4% |
| Spirit Airlines | 564 | 56.4% | 0.89% | 6 min | 13.4% |
JetBlue flew 73.6% of the 6,194 flights listed.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 24.2 percentage points more often than Spirit Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Miami to Los Angeles
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA→LAX Miami to Los Angeles | 10,497 | 74.0% | 0.51% | -5 min | 60 |
| FLL→LAX this route Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles | 6,395 | 76.7% | 0.83% | -6 min | 66 |
FLL → LAX is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 76.7% on time, against 74.0% for MIA → LAX.
Flying to LAX from the Miami area? Compare FLL, MIA for LAX, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
B62801 (8:20 AM) arrived on time 83.4% of the time, 9.7 points more often than B6101 (5:40 PM) at 73.7%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 8.4 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 71.9%
- Feb: 73.7%
- Mar: 70.7%
- Apr: 76.9%
- May: 76.8%
- Jun: 78.7%
- Jul: 75.5%
- Aug: 80.5%
- Sep: 79.7%
- Oct: 83.8%
- Nov: 81.7%
- Dec: 74.6%
March is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 13.1 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 66.5% from 183 flights
- August 2023: 74.6% from 170 flights
- September 2023: 61.8% from 144 flights
- October 2023: 78.8% from 151 flights
- November 2023: 78.9% from 153 flights
- December 2023: 65.6% from 190 flights
- January 2024: 67.7% from 211 flights
- February 2024: 65.3% from 192 flights
- March 2024: 63.2% from 193 flights
- April 2024: 71.8% from 175 flights
- May 2024: 76.4% from 144 flights
- June 2024: 87.3% from 138 flights
- July 2024: 80.3% from 141 flights
- August 2024: 82.9% from 130 flights
- September 2024: too few flights to score (116)
- October 2024: 90.7% from 129 flights
- November 2024: 87.6% from 162 flights
- December 2024: 86.2% from 210 flights
- January 2025: 74.7% from 162 flights
- February 2025: 84.7% from 150 flights
- March 2025: 72.8% from 191 flights
- April 2025: 86.7% from 188 flights
- May 2025: 84.7% from 157 flights
- June 2025: 78.6% from 155 flights
- July 2025: 78.5% from 163 flights
- August 2025: 84.7% from 163 flights
- September 2025: 89.3% from 159 flights
- October 2025: 82.9% from 171 flights
- November 2025: 79.1% from 202 flights
- December 2025: 71.4% from 236 flights
- January 2026: 73.8% from 208 flights
- February 2026: 73.6% from 184 flights
- March 2026: 75.4% from 230 flights
- April 2026: 72.3% from 208 flights
- May 2026: 70.1% from 178 flights
- June 2026: 72.1% from 173 flights
- July 2026: 77.9% from 185 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 76.5% against 82.8% in the 12 months before — declining by 6.3 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 6,395 FLL → LAX flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed