Tucson to Los Angeles

What the Data Says About TUS to LAX

The Tucson to Los Angeles corridor (TUS → LAX) covers roughly 451 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,838 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 76.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,135 flights were recorded on this pairing — 16 cancelled (0.3%) and 3 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,838 total flights analyzed, the 86.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 76.6-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Feb 2024 came in at 70% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the TUS to LAX route, the combination of a 86.6% on-time rate, 76.6-minute average delay, 0.3% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.