Historical on-time performance
Washington to Des Moines
897 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–DSM arrive on time 64% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate64%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay80 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled6.6%of scheduled flights
based on 454 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Republic AirwaysOn-time48%Median10 minp90110 minCancel6.8%Flights44
- PSA AirlinesbestOn-time66%Medianon timep9075 minCancel6.6%Flights410
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline31%
- Weather8%
- Air traffic (NAS)10%
- Late aircraft51%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DCA → DSM
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-01 .. 2025-12).
Best time of day
On-time rates are fairly even by time of day on this route — ranging from 63% to 84% on time.
- Afternoons84% on time · p90 55 min · 95 flights · limited
- Middays81% on time · p90 25 min · 1,119 flights
- Overnights69% on time · p90 65 min · 820 flights
- Evenings63% on time · p90 100 min · 203 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 71% to 78% on time.
- Tuesdays78% on time · p90 35 min · 331 flights
- Wednesdays77% on time · p90 30 min · 328 flights
- Mondays77% on time · p90 50 min · 329 flights
- Sundays74% on time · p90 55 min · 328 flights
- Saturdays74% on time · p90 55 min · 288 flights
- Thursdays72% on time · p90 55 min · 322 flights
- Fridays71% on time · p90 55 min · 324 flights
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