Washington (BWI) – Los Angeles (LAX)
- Distance
- 3,748 km
- 2,329 mi · 2,024 nm
- Flight time
- 5 h 35 min / 4 h 48 min
- Average gate to gate: BWI → LAX / back
- Time difference
- 3 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 438 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (259 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 485,085
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −4.2%
- Flights / week
- 64
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 83%
- 582,803 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 3
- WN, UA, NK
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from BWI
- 274°
- Heading from LAX
- 69°
- Halfway point
- 38.44, -98.28
- Great-circle km
- 3,740 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air BWI → LAX
- 5 h 9 min
- In the air LAX → BWI
- 4 h 27 min
- Clocks
- Los Angeles is 3 h behind Washington
The estimate for a route without real times is 5 h 15 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 53,812 |
| Sep 2025 | 50,111 |
| Oct 2025 | 50,615 |
| Nov 2025 | 36,732 |
| Dec 2025 | 36,822 |
| Jan 2026 | 26,025 |
| Feb 2026 | 25,134 |
| Mar 2026 | 38,892 |
| Apr 2026 | 38,869 |
| May 2026 | 40,612 |
| Jun 2026 | 43,840 |
| Jul 2026 | 43,621 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 336 |
| Sep 2025 | 337 |
| Oct 2025 | 330 |
| Nov 2025 | 268 |
| Dec 2025 | 244 |
| Jan 2026 | 201 |
| Feb 2026 | 221 |
| Mar 2026 | 281 |
| Apr 2026 | 282 |
| May 2026 | 285 |
| Jun 2026 | 283 |
| Jul 2026 | 280 |
Airlines flying BWI–LAX nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 39 | 62% |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 22 | 32% |
| NKSpirit Air Lines | 2.9 | 6% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,449 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 1,006 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 263 flights
- Boeing 737-900ER · 259 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 216 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 146 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 8 flights
- Boeing 757-200 · 1 flight
Also carried: 1,059 tonnes of freight and 25 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 77.9%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 12 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.1%
- Flights counted
- 3,388
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 72.5% | 14 min |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 86.8% | 10 min |
| NKSpirit Air Lines | 84.3% | 8 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 39% · aircraft arriving late 37% · air traffic system 21% · weather 3% · security 0%.
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources
What passengers paid
- Average fare, Q1 2026
- $342
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $249
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 57% of passengers · $329
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 57% of passengers · $329
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $238 · Q3 2025 $209 · Q4 2025 $256 · Q1 2026 $342).
U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 3,740 km.
Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.
Every airport pair between Washington and Los Angeles
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports