Historical on-time performance
Dallas to Washington
1,184 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DAL–DCA arrive on time 66% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate66%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay65 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.6%of scheduled flights
based on 1,735 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time66%Medianon timep9065 minCancel1.6%Flights1,735
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline28%
- Weather5%
- Air traffic (NAS)26%
- Late aircraft40%
- Security1%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline21%
- Weather57%
- Air traffic (NAS)21%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 28 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DAL → DCA
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 89% on time.
- Mornings89% on time · p90 10 min · 1,368 flights
- Middays78% on time · p90 30 min · 1,015 flights
- Afternoons63% on time · p90 75 min · 1,463 flights
- Overnights61% on time · p90 55 min · 222 flights
- Evenings54% on time · p90 90 min · 1,088 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 66% to 80% on time.
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 40 min · 506 flights
- Tuesdays77% on time · p90 40 min · 780 flights
- Wednesdays72% on time · p90 55 min · 780 flights
- Mondays72% on time · p90 45 min · 780 flights
- Sundays67% on time · p90 55 min · 750 flights
- Thursdays66% on time · p90 65 min · 777 flights
- Fridays66% on time · p90 70 min · 783 flights
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