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.
Look up a route, or build a trip
Change the airports, or add stops for a multi-leg trip.
What actually flies HOU–LAX
Filed traffic dataIn July 2026, Southwest Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop HOU–LAX; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 56% of departures; flights ran 92% full.
Departures
232
July 2026
Seats
39,574
both directions
Passengers
36,394
both directions
Load factor
92.0%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies HOU–LAX?
Southwest Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop HOU–LAX in July 2026 (232 departures).
- WN
232 departures · 39,574 seats
Share of departures100.0%92.0%
Load
What plane flies HOU–LAX?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 56% of HOU–LAX departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
130 departures · 90.9% load
56.0% - Boeing 737-800
75 departures · 92.8% load
32.3% - Boeing 737-700
27 departures · 95.5% load
11.6%
How has HOU–LAX traffic changed?
Nonstop HOU–LAX departures rose from 202 in August 2025 to 232 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop HOU–LAX traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
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
June 2026
219 departures · 34,637 passengers
92.5%
Load
July 2026
232 departures · 36,394 passengers
92.0%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
HOU → LAX
91.9% full
116 departures · 18,094 passengers
LAX → HOU
92.0% full
116 departures · 18,300 passengers
Nonstop HOU–LAX traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through July 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 July 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (56.0%), 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.
Keep exploring
Every route below is its own page.
Other routes from LAX
Popular long-haul routes