Route profile
LAX→BOS
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Los Angeles to Boston, 2,611 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 59% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 14,323 flights. How this is calculated
LAX → BOS arrives on time 80.2% of the time; the return trip, BOS → LAX, arrives on time 77.4% of the time, a 2.8-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
LAX → BOS spends 27.6 minutes on the ground on a 2,611-mile trip: 18.4 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LAX and 9.2 minutes from touchdown to gate at BOS.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route holds up about the same all year, a steadier seasonal pattern than 94% of 3,357 comparable routes.
85.1% on time in its best month (November) against 75.1% in its worst (July).
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 3,357 in the comparison.
Why LAX → BOS flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
LAX → BOS cancelled 117 of 14,323 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 122. The reason filed most often was the airline, 46.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 265 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 117 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.
54 cancellations, 46.2% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
53 cancellations, 45.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
10 cancellations, 8.5% 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.
117 coded cancellations were recorded on LAX → BOS; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 8 min early
Percentiles over 14,323 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at BOS after arriving from LAX.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 34% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 13% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 7.3% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.7% | 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 0.82% of the time and diverts 0.28% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 14,166 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 42 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 14,323 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LAX → BOS flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 85.4% of the time, against 70.4% for 9 AM–12 PM departures, a gap of 15.0 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (LAX).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 5.9 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 2.3 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 60–64
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures before 6 AM and after 11 PM (574 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | 90.6% on time160 flights | 92.4% on time145 flights | 92.8% on time141 flights | 89.7% on time156 flights | 87.7% on time155 flights | 86.2% on time132 flights | 90.5% on time159 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 86.1% on time172 flights | 88.4% on time178 flights | 84.4% on time173 flights | 89.1% on time176 flights | 85.8% on time176 flights | 84.7% on time187 flights | 84.0% on time175 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 81.8% on time336 flights | 87.0% on time335 flights | 85.7% on time332 flights | 81.7% on time335 flights | 79.2% on time338 flights | 86.0% on time334 flights | 79.7% on time324 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 58 flights, too few to score | 58 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score | 61 flights, too few to score | 58 flights, too few to score | 42 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 69.2% on time165 flights | 73.5% on time135 flights | 69.6% on time135 flights | 63.4% on time163 flights | 68.9% on time165 flights | 109 flights, too few to score | 70.0% on time162 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 96 flights, too few to score | 91 flights, too few to score | 86 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score | 97 flights, too few to score | 111 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 53 flights, too few to score | 58 flights, too few to score | 54 flights, too few to score | 55 flights, too few to score | 51 flights, too few to score | 66 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 75.1% on time178 flights | 80.9% on time152 flights | 74.7% on time159 flights | 72.4% on time178 flights | 73.4% on time184 flights | 78 flights, too few to score | 69.8% on time173 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 83 flights, too few to score | 77 flights, too few to score | 85 flights, too few to score | 81 flights, too few to score | 84 flights, too few to score | 71 flights, too few to score | 83 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 78.7% on time170 flights | 79.6% on time160 flights | 77.8% on time174 flights | 71.1% on time168 flights | 77.3% on time172 flights | 98 flights, too few to score | 70.3% on time169 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 2 flights, too few to score | 3 flights, too few to score | 2 flights, too few to score | 1 flight, too few to score | 4 flights, too few to score | 1 flight, too few to score | 5 flights, too few to score |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score | 0 flights, too few to score |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 57 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score | 56 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score | 35 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 80.0% on time200 flights | 82.5% on time171 flights | 79.8% on time179 flights | 80.6% on time191 flights | 87.7% on time199 flights | 84.6% on time137 flights | 75.7% on time195 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 86.7% on time334 flights | 89.7% on time275 flights | 82.5% on time304 flights | 82.8% on time325 flights | 83.3% on time323 flights | 86.8% on time297 flights | 80.3% on time319 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 90.0% on time from 1,048 flights
- 7 AM: 86.1% on time from 1,237 flights
- 8 AM: 83.0% on time from 2,334 flights
- 9 AM: 67.3% on time from 397 flights
- 10 AM: 70.1% on time from 1,034 flights
- 11 AM: 72.9% on time from 669 flights
- 12 PM: 72.0% on time from 400 flights
- 1 PM: 75.1% on time from 1,102 flights
- 2 PM: 77.2% on time from 564 flights
- 3 PM: 77.1% on time from 1,111 flights
- 4 PM to 7 PM: too few flights to score
- 8 PM: 83.3% on time from 386 flights
- 9 PM: 81.4% on time from 1,272 flights
- 10 PM: 84.5% on time from 2,177 flights
- 11 PM: 75.4% on time from 547 flights
Why LAX → BOS 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 LAX → BOS. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LAX → BOS, at 35.0%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 85.4% of the time and 9 AM–12 PM departures 70.4%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is BOS, where the flight lands. Its figure counts departures from BOS, so it says more about how that airport copes than about this route. Bad weather cancels 3.9 times the normal rate at BOS against 1.3 times at LAX. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: LAX 1.0% against 0.8%, BOS 5.3% against 1.4%. Flights that did leave BOS in bad weather arrived on time 65.1% of the time, against 79.7% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | LAX | BOS |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 1.0% | 5.3% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.8% | 1.4% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 78.9% | 65.1% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 81.4% | 79.7% |
| Departures in bad weather | 60,639 | 60,840 |
American Airlines (0.8% cancelled against 1.1% for the other carriers at LAX) cancelled fewer departures from LAX in bad weather than the other carriers there did in the same months. None of the route’s other carriers was clearly worse.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at LAX
All departures from LAX| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 9,554 | 0.8%below the others | 1.1% |
| Delta Air Lines | 11,619 | 0.9%about level | 1.0% |
| JetBlue | 2,801 | 1.0%about level | 1.0% |
| United Airlines | 8,785 | 1.2%about level | 1.0% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from LAX and BOS, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from LAX on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: LAX (airlines), BOS, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
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 | 5,120 | 77.4% | 0.78% | -8 min | 8.5% |
| Delta Air Lines | 3,611 | 80.9% | 0.89% | -6 min | 6.8% |
| American Airlines | 3,204 | 79.4% | 0.81% | -8 min | 8.3% |
| United Airlines | 2,305 | 87.1% | 0.82% | -12 min | 4.3% |
JetBlue flew 36.0% of the 14,240 flights listed.
United Airlines arrived on time 9.7 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
| Flight | Scheduled | Operations | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| B6288 JetBlue | 8:00 AM | 1,052 | 80.9% |
| AA2453 American Airlines | 10:00 PM | 1,021 | 84.5% |
| B6988 JetBlue | 11:59 PM | 987 | 74.7% |
| UA1783 United Airlines | 8:20 AM | 765 | 83.8% |
| UA2210 United Airlines | 10:55 PM | 765 | 88.9% |
| DL507 Delta Air Lines | 9:00 PM | 684 | 81.4% |
| DL437 Delta Air Lines | 1:00 PM | 679 | 74.9% |
| B61388 JetBlue | 10:35 AM | 648 | 69.1% |
| B6188 JetBlue | 1:10 PM | 606 | 75.1% |
UA2210 (10:55 PM) arrived on time 88.9% of the time, 19.8 points more often than B61388 (10:35 AM) at 69.1%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 6.9 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 80.6%
- Feb: 84.2%
- Mar: 82.6%
- Apr: 82.0%
- May: 77.2%
- Jun: 79.7%
- Jul: 75.1%
- Aug: 80.8%
- Sep: 79.5%
- Oct: 82.0%
- Nov: 85.1%
- Dec: 77.3%
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 10.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 72.7% from 475 flights
- August 2023: 78.2% from 431 flights
- September 2023: 78.6% from 363 flights
- October 2023: 85.8% from 367 flights
- November 2023: 85.5% from 331 flights
- December 2023: 76.5% from 334 flights
- January 2024: 81.0% from 276 flights
- February 2024: 87.4% from 286 flights
- March 2024: 84.3% from 351 flights
- April 2024: 81.2% from 342 flights
- May 2024: 76.5% from 402 flights
- June 2024: 75.3% from 415 flights
- July 2024: 78.7% from 430 flights
- August 2024: 76.9% from 468 flights
- September 2024: 85.7% from 440 flights
- October 2024: 87.2% from 487 flights
- November 2024: 89.5% from 392 flights
- December 2024: 79.2% from 371 flights
- January 2025: 86.5% from 319 flights
- February 2025: 88.0% from 294 flights
- March 2025: 87.2% from 355 flights
- April 2025: 88.2% from 364 flights
- May 2025: 72.6% from 435 flights
- June 2025: 82.4% from 394 flights
- July 2025: 79.3% from 440 flights
- August 2025: 87.7% from 433 flights
- September 2025: 73.0% from 363 flights
- October 2025: 72.2% from 403 flights
- November 2025: 80.0% from 376 flights
- December 2025: 76.0% from 380 flights
- January 2026: 75.0% from 373 flights
- February 2026: 77.9% from 344 flights
- March 2026: 76.7% from 389 flights
- April 2026: 76.6% from 364 flights
- May 2026: 82.8% from 400 flights
- June 2026: 81.3% from 453 flights
- July 2026: 70.2% from 483 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 77.5% against 83.2% in the 12 months before — declining by 5.7 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 14,323 LAX → BOS 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