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 July 2026, American Airlines operated the most departures, one of 3 carriers flying nonstop JFK–LAX; the Airbus A321 was the most common aircraft at 59% of departures; flights ran 92% full.
Departures
1,663
July 2026
Seats
280,596
both directions
Passengers
258,238
both directions
Load factor
92.0%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies JFK–LAX?
American Airlines operated the most nonstop JFK–LAX departures in July 2026 (568), one of 3 carriers on the route.
- AA
568 departures · 65,043 seats
Share of departures34.2%90.8%
Load
- B6
557 departures · 89,095 seats
Share of departures33.5%93.7%
Load
- DL
538 departures · 126,458 seats
Share of departures32.4%91.5%
Load
What plane flies JFK–LAX?
In July 2026, the Airbus A321 flew 59% of JFK–LAX departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Airbus A321
988 departures · 92.5% load
59.4% - Boeing 767-300
250 departures · 93.3% load
15.0% - Boeing 767-400ER
173 departures · 92.2% load
10.4% - Airbus A321neo
136 departures · 93.8% load
8.2% - Airbus A330-300
52 departures · 87.8% load
3.1% - Airbus A330-900
51 departures · 88.7% load
3.1% - Boeing 757-200
7 departures · 81.8% load
0.4% - Airbus A350-900
4 departures · 71.5% load
0.2% - Boeing 777-300ER
1 departures · 17.8% load
0.1% - Boeing 777-200
1 departures · 88.3% load
0.1%
How has JFK–LAX traffic changed?
Nonstop JFK–LAX departures fell from 1,817 in August 2025 to 1,663 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop JFK–LAX traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
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
June 2026
1,622 departures · 271,731 passengers
93.1%
Load
July 2026
1,663 departures · 258,238 passengers
92.0%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
JFK → LAX
92.6% full
854 departures · 133,345 passengers
LAX → JFK
91.5% full
809 departures · 124,893 passengers
Nonstop JFK–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 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 July 2026, the Airbus A321 flew the largest share of departures (59.4%), followed by the Boeing 767-300 (15.0%).
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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