Los Angeles to New York

What the Data Says About LAX to JFK

The Los Angeles to New York corridor (LAX → JFK) covers roughly 2,475 miles and is served by 22 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 53,619 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 88.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 20,180 flights were recorded on this pairing — 144 cancelled (0.7%) and 107 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 22 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 53,619 total flights analyzed, the 81.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 88.6-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 70% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LAX to JFK route, the combination of a 81.8% on-time rate, 88.6-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 22 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.