Houston (HOU) – Los Angeles (LAX)
- Distance
- 2,237 km
- 1,390 mi · 1,208 nm
- Flight time
- 3 h 28 min / 3 h 7 min
- Average gate to gate: HOU → LAX / back
- Time difference
- 2 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 281 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (166 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 343,653
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +2.8%
- Flights / week
- 46
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 84%
- 409,435 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 1
- WN
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 HOU
- 288°
- Heading from LAX
- 96°
- Halfway point
- 32.33, -106.57
- Great-circle km
- 2,233 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air HOU → LAX
- 3 h 5 min
- In the air LAX → HOU
- 2 h 47 min
- Clocks
- Los Angeles is 2 h behind Houston
The estimate for a route without real times is 3 h 25 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 29,062 |
| Sep 2025 | 26,285 |
| Oct 2025 | 31,279 |
| Nov 2025 | 27,994 |
| Dec 2025 | 30,606 |
| Jan 2026 | 23,973 |
| Feb 2026 | 22,143 |
| Mar 2026 | 27,038 |
| Apr 2026 | 25,490 |
| May 2026 | 28,752 |
| Jun 2026 | 34,637 |
| Jul 2026 | 36,394 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 201 |
| Sep 2025 | 198 |
| Oct 2025 | 219 |
| Nov 2025 | 211 |
| Dec 2025 | 215 |
| Jan 2026 | 186 |
| Feb 2026 | 167 |
| Mar 2026 | 178 |
| Apr 2026 | 178 |
| May 2026 | 185 |
| Jun 2026 | 219 |
| Jul 2026 | 232 |
Airlines flying HOU–LAX nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 46 | 100% |
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 · 1,273 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 873 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 242 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 900 · 1 flight
Also carried: 1,169 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 72.7%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 13 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 0.1%
- Flights counted
- 2,389
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 35% · aircraft arriving late 51% · air traffic system 13% · weather 1% · 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
- $222
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $191
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $221
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $221
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $185 · Q3 2025 $179 · Q4 2025 $183 · Q1 2026 $222).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $227, likely $196–$258
The average fare paid we expect a year after Q1 2026, the newest DOT quarter. On this route, past forecasts made this way fell inside the range 86% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 5.8%). An estimate from US DOT data: not a price you can book, not a guarantee, not advice on when to buy. How the outlook works
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: 2,233 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 Houston and Los Angeles
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Houston airports