The corridor between Los Angeles and Phoenix is undoubtedly busy, with five airlines operating the quick hop. This month, there are more than 1,200 flights
on the route, offering nearly 185,000 seats.

While a portion of travelers on the route may actually reside in either the Valley of the Sun or the City of Angels, the route typically sees a plethora of connecting passengers. Some may be connecting to international destinations from Los Angeles, while others could be connecting to domestic markets from Phoenix.

Competition on the route

American Airlines
, Delta Air Lines
, Frontier Airlines
, Southwest Airlines
, and United Airlines
all offer scheduled services between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
. According to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium, the carriers have a total of 1,283 flights combined this month.

Interested in this route? Find flights between Los Angeles & Phoenix right here!

Southwest has been a notable competitor on the route for decades, competing specifically with America West Airlines and US Airways, ultimately making up what American is today. However, other airlines started to offer flights on the route after noticing the demand. Both mainline and regional aircraft have been scheduled between LAX and PHX, but the former has always been more popular among airlines.

American or Southwest?

American, Frontier, and Southwest only operate mainline planes on the route. While it is a given for the two budget carriers, considering they do not have any regional aircraft in their fleet, it may be a surprise for American, which operates several Embraer E175
and Bombardier CRJ700 flights out of both PHX and LAX.

American Eagle (SkyWest Airlines) Embraer E175 (N504SY) at Los Angeles International Airport.

Photo: GingChen | Shutterstock

Nonetheless, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier has 359 flights scheduled on the route this month, the most of any other airline. Four aircraft types will be deployed on the route: the Airbus A319, A321, A321neo, and Boeing 737-800. With the planes, the airline will offer 63,856 seats in September. Understandably, American has a significant presence at both airports as they are hubs for the airline. Among international operations, LAX acts as American’s Asian gateway while it is the largest carrier to Mexico from PHX.

Southwest Airlines trails behind by just about 11 flights, with a total of 348 scheduled. The airline will utilize all three aircraft types in its fleet: the 737-700, 737-800, and 737 MAX 8. The smallest variant will operate the most flights, at 229, while the 737-800 will follow with 70 flights. The MAX 8 is scheduled on the remaining 49 flights. In total, the airline will offer 53,672 seats. PHX is a hub for Southwest, while LAX is not.

3rd, 4th, & 5th place

Delta Air Lines has 276 flights scheduled between LAX and PHX this month. However, its seat count is much less than Amercan and Southwest. This is because the carrier utilizes the E175 on the route. The aircraft, which is operated by SkyWest Airlines
under the Delta Connection brand, has a capacity of 70 passengers. Delta will offer 19,320 seats across 138 flights in each direction.

United has 180 flights scheduled between LAX and PHX this month. 60 of those flights will be handled by SkyWest with the E175, but under the United Express brand. The remaining 120 flights are scheduled on mainline aircraft comprising the 737-800, 737-900, MAX 8, and MAX 9. The Chicago-based airline has 25,611 seats offered on the route this month.

United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER arriving into PHX shutterstock_2449437693

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

Frontier is somewhat new to the route, but it still has a good number of flights. The ultra-low-cost carrier will operate 120 flights on its A321ceo and A320neo aircraft throughout September, offering 22,364 seats.

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