Route profile
LAX→IAH
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Los Angeles to Houston, 1,379 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 84% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 16,477 flights. How this is calculated
LAX → IAH arrives on time 85.3% of the time; the return trip, IAH → LAX, arrives on time 82.8% of the time, a 2.5-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
LAX → IAH spends 27.3 minutes on the ground on a 1,379-mile trip: 17.2 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LAX and 10.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at IAH.
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.
United Airlines arrived on time 87.9% of the time, against 62.9% for Frontier 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.
Why LAX → IAH flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
LAX → IAH cancelled 170 of 16,477 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 97. The reason filed most often was the airline, 53.5% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 181 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 170 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.
91 cancellations, 53.5% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
67 cancellations, 39.4% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
12 cancellations, 7.1% 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.
170 coded cancellations were recorded on LAX → IAH; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
27 min late
against a median of 9 min early
Percentiles over 16,477 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at IAH after arriving from LAX.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 29% | High risk |
| 45 min | 14% | Some risk |
| 60 min | 9.3% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 4.9% | Low risk |
| 120 min | 3.0% | 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 1.03% of the time and diverts 0.37% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 16,246 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 27 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 16,477 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LAX → IAH flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.8% of the time, against 78.0% for 12–3 PM departures, a gap of 13.8 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 5.5 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 1.5 points.
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- 95–99
- 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 after 8 PM (306 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 AM–1 AM | 84.5% on time226 flights | 88.5% on time177 flights | 93.5% on time170 flights | 94.5% on time224 flights | 89.3% on time221 flights | 85.1% on time224 flights | 90.4% on time222 flights |
| 1 AM–2 AM | 16 flights, too few to score | 8 flights, too few to score | 10 flights, too few to score | 12 flights, too few to score | 16 flights, too few to score | 16 flights, too few to score | 14 flights, too few to score |
| 2 AM–3 AM | 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 |
| 3 AM–4 AM | 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 |
| 4 AM–5 AM | 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 |
| 5 AM–6 AM | 93.9% on time151 flights | 97.9% on time147 flights | 92.9% on time155 flights | 94.7% on time154 flights | 95.5% on time155 flights | 96.7% on time151 flights | 97.3% on time149 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 64 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 63 flights, too few to score | 59 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 64 flights, too few to score |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 98 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score | 101 flights, too few to score | 101 flights, too few to score | 105 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 90.8% on time289 flights | 93.5% on time286 flights | 87.4% on time288 flights | 89.5% on time289 flights | 89.2% on time289 flights | 86.0% on time277 flights | 87.0% on time280 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 94 flights, too few to score | 93 flights, too few to score | 97 flights, too few to score | 91 flights, too few to score | 91 flights, too few to score | 97 flights, too few to score | 92 flights, too few to score |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 89.1% on time185 flights | 90.5% on time180 flights | 92.2% on time180 flights | 89.5% on time193 flights | 84.8% on time186 flights | 82.7% on time185 flights | 86.2% on time199 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 80.9% on time145 flights | 80.9% on time161 flights | 83.8% on time156 flights | 86.1% on time154 flights | 81.4% on time148 flights | 86.2% on time125 flights | 91.0% on time145 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 59 flights, too few to score | 72 flights, too few to score | 78 flights, too few to score | 50 flights, too few to score | 60 flights, too few to score | 69 flights, too few to score | 62 flights, too few to score |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 75.1% on time243 flights | 78.4% on time263 flights | 81.0% on time238 flights | 76.9% on time241 flights | 78.2% on time235 flights | 77.4% on time242 flights | 70.3% on time241 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 75.0% on time148 flights | 113 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score | 79.0% on time139 flights | 73.0% on time151 flights | 79.6% on time144 flights | 69.1% on time137 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 106 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score | 113 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 102 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score | 96 flights, too few to score |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 77 flights, too few to score | 85 flights, too few to score | 68 flights, too few to score | 73 flights, too few to score | 75 flights, too few to score | 70 flights, too few to score | 75 flights, too few to score |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 99 flights, too few to score | 94 flights, too few to score | 99 flights, too few to score | 101 flights, too few to score | 103 flights, too few to score | 76 flights, too few to score | 99 flights, too few to score |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 84.3% on time261 flights | 85.4% on time209 flights | 82.7% on time225 flights | 79.1% on time255 flights | 76.4% on time266 flights | 92 flights, too few to score | 77.1% on time253 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 87.1% on time136 flights | 78 flights, too few to score | 112 flights, too few to score | 80.5% on time136 flights | 80.8% on time120 flights | 91 flights, too few to score | 75.4% on time133 flights |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM: 89.3% on time from 1,464 flights
- 1 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 95.5% on time from 1,062 flights
- 6 AM: 95.1% on time from 478 flights
- 7 AM: 91.6% on time from 693 flights
- 8 AM: 89.1% on time from 1,998 flights
- 9 AM: 83.4% on time from 655 flights
- 10 AM: 87.8% on time from 1,308 flights
- 11 AM: 84.3% on time from 1,034 flights
- 12 PM: 84.4% on time from 450 flights
- 1 PM: 76.8% on time from 1,703 flights
- 2 PM: 77.2% on time from 948 flights
- 3 PM: 83.6% on time from 725 flights
- 4 PM: 82.7% on time from 523 flights
- 5 PM: 87.8% on time from 671 flights
- 6 PM: 80.5% on time from 1,561 flights
- 7 PM: 81.2% on time from 806 flights
- 8 PM to 10 PM: too few flights to score
- 11 PM: 84.7% on time from 292 flights
Why LAX → IAH 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 → IAH. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on LAX → IAH, at 39.6%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 91.8% of the time and 12–3 PM departures 78.0%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is IAH, where the flight lands. Its figure counts departures from IAH, so it says more about how that airport copes than about this route. Bad weather cancels 3.4 times the normal rate at IAH against 1.3 times at LAX. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: LAX 1.0% against 0.8%, IAH 4.1% against 1.2%. Flights that did leave IAH in bad weather arrived on time 63.8% of the time, against 78.6% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | LAX | IAH |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 1.0% | 4.1% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 0.8% | 1.2% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 78.9% | 63.8% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 81.4% | 78.6% |
| Departures in bad weather | 60,639 | 28,922 |
Spirit Airlines (1.8% cancelled against 1.0% for the other carriers at LAX) and Frontier Airlines (3.1% cancelled against 1.0% for the other carriers at LAX) cancelled more 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 better.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at LAX
All departures from LAX| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 11,619 | 0.9%about level | 1.0% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 11,169 | 1.0%about level | 1.0% |
| United Airlines | 8,785 | 1.2%about level | 1.0% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,995 | 1.8%above the others | 1.0% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,064 | 3.1%above the others | 1.0% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from LAX and IAH, 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), IAH, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 10,495 | 87.9% | 1.00% | -10 min | 3.7% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,242 | 79.9% | 1.16% | -6 min | 7.2% |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,032 | 83.6% | 1.08% | -8 min | 6.0% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 1,149 | 86.1% | 0.52% | -7 min | 4.7% |
| Frontier Airlines | 559 | 62.9% | 1.97% | 5 min | 16.8% |
United Airlines flew 63.7% of the 16,477 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 1.97% of its flights here against 0.52% for SkyWest Airlines.
United Airlines arrived on time 25.0 percentage points more often than Frontier Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
UA1416 (8:15 AM) arrived on time 91.7% of the time, 9.9 points more often than DL1287 (6:10 PM) at 81.8%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 4.1 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 86.8%
- Feb: 88.1%
- Mar: 84.6%
- Apr: 88.8%
- May: 82.9%
- Jun: 80.1%
- Jul: 79.8%
- Aug: 84.1%
- Sep: 91.5%
- Oct: 89.8%
- Nov: 85.5%
- Dec: 83.4%
July is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 11.7 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 83.9% from 482 flights
- August 2023: 83.6% from 491 flights
- September 2023: 88.2% from 434 flights
- October 2023: 89.5% from 456 flights
- November 2023: 88.7% from 409 flights
- December 2023: 89.9% from 425 flights
- January 2024: 86.7% from 405 flights
- February 2024: 90.8% from 371 flights
- March 2024: 83.6% from 424 flights
- April 2024: 90.8% from 436 flights
- May 2024: 79.0% from 466 flights
- June 2024: 80.0% from 473 flights
- July 2024: 72.1% from 483 flights
- August 2024: 82.6% from 484 flights
- September 2024: 93.7% from 462 flights
- October 2024: 92.2% from 475 flights
- November 2024: 90.5% from 463 flights
- December 2024: 81.5% from 495 flights
- January 2025: 87.0% from 479 flights
- February 2025: 87.3% from 412 flights
- March 2025: 90.3% from 446 flights
- April 2025: 87.6% from 460 flights
- May 2025: 82.5% from 446 flights
- June 2025: 77.0% from 431 flights
- July 2025: 80.0% from 453 flights
- August 2025: 86.2% from 442 flights
- September 2025: 92.3% from 439 flights
- October 2025: 87.8% from 493 flights
- November 2025: 77.4% from 446 flights
- December 2025: 79.2% from 448 flights
- January 2026: 86.7% from 437 flights
- February 2026: 86.4% from 398 flights
- March 2026: 79.9% from 446 flights
- April 2026: 88.0% from 436 flights
- May 2026: 87.4% from 422 flights
- June 2026: 83.6% from 395 flights
- July 2026: 83.1% from 414 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 84.8% against 86.0% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 16,477 LAX → IAH 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