LAX to JFK flight delays

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) New York, NY (JFK) · 2,475 miles

821 flights · February 2026 – July 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics

76.24%

Arrived on time

Within 15 minutes of schedule

1.22%

Cancelled

Share of scheduled flights

86 min

When late, late by

Average across delayed arrivals

21 min

Delay per flight

Averaged over every flight flown

What the record says about this route

Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Delta Air Lines arrived on time 8.4 points more often than American Airlines over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.

The two directions do not behave alike. JFK to LAX arrives on time 6 points less often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.

The Los Angeles to New York route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.

Which airline should you fly on this route?

Over February 2026 – July 2026, Delta Air Lines arrived on time most often on LAX to JFK. American Airlines was late most often.

Every airline on LAX to JFK

Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.

Airline	Flights	On time	Cancelled	Avg delay	Grade
Delta Air Lines	286	79.29%	1.05%	97 min	C
JetBlue Airways	269	78.2%	0.37%	78 min	C
American Airlines	266	70.93%	2.26%	83 min	D

The return leg

JFK to LAX New York back to Los Angeles 70.28% on time D

Other routes from Los Angeles

What these figures do and do not tell you

Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on LAX to JFK during February 2026 – July 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.

Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →