New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Flight time
≈ 5h 44m
Bearing
274° W
New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) is 2,469 miles (3,974 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies JFK–LAX
Filed traffic dataIn May 2026, Delta Air Lines operated the most departures, one of 4 carriers flying nonstop JFK–LAX; the Airbus A321 was the most common aircraft at 49% of departures; flights ran 89% full.
Departures
1,724
May 2026
Seats
306,229
both directions
Passengers
273,837
both directions
Load factor
89.4%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies JFK–LAX?
Delta Air Lines operated the most nonstop JFK–LAX departures in May 2026 (604), one of 4 carriers on the route.
- DL
604 departures · 140,542 seats
Share of departures35.0%90.1%
Load
- B6
572 departures · 92,866 seats
Share of departures33.2%90.7%
Load
- AA
547 departures · 72,643 seats
Share of departures31.7%86.4%
Load
- AS
1 departures · 178 seats
Share of departures0.1%94.9%
Load
What plane flies JFK–LAX?
In May 2026, the Airbus A321 flew 49% of JFK–LAX departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Airbus A321
838 departures · 89.5% load
48.6% - Boeing 767-300
314 departures · 91.9% load
18.2% - Airbus A321neo
204 departures · 89.8% load
11.8% - Boeing 767-400ER
141 departures · 89.2% load
8.2% - Boeing 777-200
72 departures · 83.5% load
4.2% - Airbus A330-300
66 departures · 89.7% load
3.8% - Airbus A330-900
44 departures · 84.5% load
2.5% - Airbus A330-200
35 departures · 89.6% load
2.0% - Boeing 757-200
4 departures · 82.6% load
0.2% - Boeing 777-300ER
3 departures · 76.9% load
0.2% - Airbus A320
2 departures · 88.0% load
0.1% - Boeing 737 MAX 9
1 departures · 94.9% load
0.1%
How has JFK–LAX traffic changed?
Nonstop JFK–LAX departures fell from 1,735 in June 2025 to 1,724 in May 2026.
Monthly nonstop JFK–LAX traffic, trailing 12 months through May 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
June 2025
1,735 departures · 261,539 passengers
89.1%
Load
July 2025
1,787 departures · 253,987 passengers
86.1%
Load
August 2025
1,817 departures · 260,114 passengers
86.6%
Load
September 2025
1,704 departures · 243,865 passengers
86.3%
Load
October 2025
1,777 departures · 260,055 passengers
85.8%
Load
November 2025
1,691 departures · 247,261 passengers
83.5%
Load
December 2025
1,744 departures · 259,800 passengers
88.4%
Load
January 2026
1,563 departures · 231,390 passengers
85.4%
Load
February 2026
1,335 departures · 192,106 passengers
85.6%
Load
March 2026
1,682 departures · 258,685 passengers
88.7%
Load
April 2026
1,699 departures · 263,145 passengers
85.8%
Load
May 2026
1,724 departures · 273,837 passengers
89.4%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
LAX → JFK
90.7% full
864 departures · 139,169 passengers
JFK → LAX
88.1% full
860 departures · 134,668 passengers
Nonstop JFK–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 New York (JFK) from Los Angeles (LAX)?
JFK to LAX is 2,469 miles (3,974 km / 2,146 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from JFK to LAX?
A nonstop covers the 2,469-mile great-circle distance in roughly 5h 44m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies JFK–LAX?
In May 2026, the Airbus A321 flew the largest share of departures (48.6%), followed by the Boeing 767-300 (18.2%).
What mileage do I earn flying JFK–LAX?
Distance-based programs credit off the 2,469-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Trip reports on YouTube
Fliers post trip reports from this route to YouTube. These three were matched automatically from public YouTube listings — The Frequent Flier does not host, review, or endorse them.
Nonstop Dan
UNITED Business Class Full Flight Review! Domestic 757-200 P.S LAX-JFK!
16:35 · Sep 2012
BrandonJohnson10K
American Airlines 28 - LAX-JFK Premium Transcontinental Business Class A321T
9:42 · Oct 2020
Source: YouTube. Titles, thumbnails, and channel names come from YouTube. Playing a video loads the YouTube player, and using it means you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service; the Google Privacy Policy applies.
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