Airport month record
LAXJAN
Los Angeles International in January 2026
- Departures
- 14,815
- Month
- January 2026
- National, same month
- 79.2%
- Carriers
- 9
Historical statistics for January 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s January. For today’s conditions at LAX, see live FAA status.
LAX in January lands a B, 2 points better than the national rate of 79.2%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by a little over an hour on average. That rests on 14,815 flights, of which SkyWest Airlines flew 3,580 at 85.6% on time.
SkyWest Airlines is the most reliable of the eight carriers covered here at 85.6% on time across 3,580 flights.
Key figures
On time
81.2%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 14,460 completed departures
Avg delay
76 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
2.17%
Nationally in January: 4.71%
Whole year
79.5%
LAX across all twelve months
These figures cover 14,815 departures from Los Angeles International in January 2026. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
January next to LAX's other months
Against LAX's own year, January ran 2 points better than the twelve-month rate of 79.5%, which makes it number four of twelve months, best first. Cancellations are where January stands out: 2.17% of scheduled departures were called off, 2.2 times the airport's rate across the year. Either side of it, December ran 77.7% on time and February 80.9%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 15,262 | 85.8% | 66 min | 0.28% | A+ |
| October 2025 | 16,122 | 83.5% | 70 min | 0.31% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 15,422 | 79.7% | 67 min | 1.78% | B |
| December 2025 | 16,050 | 77.7% | 71 min | 0.88% | B+ |
| January 2026 (this page) | 14,815 | 81.2% | 76 min | 2.17% | B |
| February 2026 | 13,687 | 80.9% | 69 min | 1.42% | B |
| March 2026 | 16,088 | 77.7% | 65 min | 1.29% | B |
| April 2026 | 15,732 | 81.5% | 62 min | 0.44% | B+ |
| May 2026 | 16,317 | 80.0% | 64 min | 0.54% | B+ |
| June 2026 | 16,664 | 77.0% | 69 min | 0.61% | B+ |
| July 2026 | 17,454 | 73.7% | 67 min | 1.20% | C |
| August 2026 | 16,494 | 76.9% | 62 min | 0.81% | B+ |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave LAX in January
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 12 points, against 13 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am1,636 flights89.1%
- 8am–11am3,995 flights82.2%
- 11am–2pm2,600 flights76.9%
- 2pm–5pm2,195 flights79.8%
- 5pm–8pm1,956 flights80.7%
- 8pm–5am2,433 flights80.8%
Scale runs 70% to 95%.
The weak window here is the middle of the day, not the evening: 11am–2pm runs 76.9% on time against 89.1% for 5am–8am. That shape usually means a departure bank rather than an accumulating delay, so the recovery later in the afternoon is real rather than noise. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 3,995 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 87.0% on time and Sunday the weakest at 76.3%, a spread of 11 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at LAX in January
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. SkyWest Airlines arrives on time 85.6% of the time; American Airlines manages 72.4%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 2,320 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 3,580 | 85.6% | 73 min | 1.12% | A |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,779 | 82.1% | 76 min | 2.02% | B |
| American Airlines | 2,320 | 72.4% | 96 min | 5.43% | C− |
| United Airlines | 2,210 | 84.5% | 71 min | 1.27% | B |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,846 | 83.2% | 48 min | 0.87% | B+ |
| Alaska Airlines | 790 | 79.4% | 55 min | 1.14% | B |
| JetBlue Airways | 599 | 75.8% | 70 min | 4.01% | B− |
| Frontier Airlines | 409 | 74.7% | 108 min | 2.93% | C |
| Spirit Airlinesthin sample | 280 | 75.1% | 73 min | 3.93% | B− |
American Airlines cancels 5.4% of what it schedules here, the highest in the table. A cancelled flight never appears in an on-time rate, so read that column alongside the punctuality one rather than after it.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of LAX in January
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX to JFK · New York | 825 | 74.8% | 107 min | 5.58% | C− |
| LAX to SFO · San Francisco | 772 | 81.9% | 82 min | 1.04% | B |
| LAX to LAS · Las Vegas | 743 | 77.7% | 58 min | 0.81% | B+ |
| LAX to PHX · Phoenix | 634 | 82.7% | 101 min | 0.79% | B+ |
| LAX to DEN · Denver | 600 | 88.3% | 60 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| LAX to SEA · Seattle | 562 | 86.0% | 72 min | 1.07% | A |
| LAX to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worth | 478 | 71.1% | 87 min | 10.04% | C− |
| LAX to ORD · Chicago | 463 | 77.3% | 69 min | 1.73% | B |
| LAX to IAH · Houston | 437 | 86.7% | 62 min | 1.60% | A |
| LAX to HNL · Honolulu | 424 | 74.0% | 86 min | 0.24% | C+ |
| LAX to SMF · Sacramento | 419 | 84.2% | 81 min | 0.95% | B+ |
| LAX to SLC · Salt Lake City | 394 | 83.9% | 85 min | 0.51% | B+ |
| LAX to BOS · Boston | 373 | 75.0% | 91 min | 5.63% | B− |
| LAX to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 363 | 71.8% | 72 min | 2.48% | C |
| LAX to PDX · Portlandthin sample | 330 | 83.5% | 67 min | 0.61% | B+ |
| LAX to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 325 | 75.4% | 71 min | 3.69% | B− |
| LAX to SJC · San Josethin sample | 320 | 91.6% | 53 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| LAX to AUS · Austinthin sample | 304 | 80.7% | 55 min | 2.96% | B |
| LAX to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 303 | 78.5% | 82 min | 1.98% | B |
| LAX to MIA · Miamithin sample | 299 | 77.1% | 80 min | 3.68% | B− |
| LAX to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 207 | 75.6% | 74 min | 0.97% | B+ |
| LAX to TUS · Tucsonthin sample | 203 | 83.3% | 111 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 202 | 77.5% | 61 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to SAN · San Diegothin sample | 197 | 83.0% | 72 min | 1.52% | B |
| LAX to RNO · Renothin sample | 187 | 90.9% | 53 min | 0.00% | A+ |
Delay causes
What held LAX up in January
Carrier accounts for 43% of the 205,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 43%Carrier
- 36%Late-arriving aircraft
- 18%National Airspace System
- 3%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
36% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 205,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 11 to one. The split is drawn from 204,681 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 2.17% against a national 4.71%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.22%.
6.4% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 7.6%, so a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last a little over an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from LAX in January
For a January trip through LAX: expect 81.2% on time and 2.17% cancelled, going by January 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Los Angeles International (LAX), the whole year
- LAX in September85.8%
- LAX in October83.5%
- LAX in November79.7%
- LAX in December77.7%
- LAX in February80.9%
- LAX in March77.7%
- LAX in April81.5%
- LAX in May80.0%
- LAX in June77.0%
- LAX in July73.7%
- LAX in August76.9%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, September 2025 to August 2026. Last updated ; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.