Houston (HOU) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Flight time
≈ 3h 34m
Bearing
288° W
Houston (HOU) to Los Angeles (LAX) is 1,387 miles (2,233 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies HOU–LAX
Filed traffic dataIn May 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 3 carriers flying nonstop HOU–LAX; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 60% of departures; flights ran 89% full.
Departures
189
May 2026
Seats
32,473
both directions
Passengers
28,968
both directions
Load factor
89.2%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies HOU–LAX?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop HOU–LAX departures in May 2026 (185), one of 3 carriers on the route.
- WN
185 departures · 31,843 seats
Share of departures97.9%90.3%
Load
- SY
3 departures · 558 seats
Share of departures1.6%26.5%
Load
- DL
1 departures · 72 seats
Share of departures0.5%94.4%
Load
What plane flies HOU–LAX?
In May 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 60% of HOU–LAX departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
113 departures · 89.2% load
59.8% - Boeing 737-800
61 departures · 88.8% load
32.3% - Boeing 737-700
14 departures · 91.6% load
7.4% - Boeing 757-200
1 departures · 94.4% load
0.5%
How has HOU–LAX traffic changed?
Nonstop HOU–LAX departures fell from 220 in June 2025 to 189 in May 2026.
Monthly nonstop HOU–LAX traffic, trailing 12 months through May 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
June 2025
220 departures · 32,105 passengers
86.8%
Load
July 2025
235 departures · 34,776 passengers
88.3%
Load
August 2025
202 departures · 29,121 passengers
83.1%
Load
September 2025
201 departures · 26,408 passengers
75.6%
Load
October 2025
219 departures · 31,279 passengers
82.9%
Load
November 2025
211 departures · 27,994 passengers
77.1%
Load
December 2025
217 departures · 30,708 passengers
82.6%
Load
January 2026
187 departures · 23,973 passengers
78.4%
Load
February 2026
170 departures · 22,284 passengers
77.7%
Load
March 2026
179 departures · 27,105 passengers
88.1%
Load
April 2026
182 departures · 25,693 passengers
82.5%
Load
May 2026
189 departures · 28,968 passengers
89.2%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
HOU → LAX
90.3% full
96 departures · 15,093 passengers
LAX → HOU
88.1% full
93 departures · 13,875 passengers
Nonstop HOU–LAX traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through May 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Houston (HOU) from Los Angeles (LAX)?
HOU to LAX is 1,387 miles (2,233 km / 1,205 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from HOU to LAX?
A nonstop covers the 1,387-mile great-circle distance in roughly 3h 34m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies HOU–LAX?
In May 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (59.8%), followed by the Boeing 737-800 (32.3%).
What mileage do I earn flying HOU–LAX?
Distance-based programs credit off the 1,387-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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