Historical on-time performance
Washington to Des Moines
Flights on DCA–DSM arrive on time 66% of the time over the last 12 months.
based on 355 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
Not enough comparable data to name a most-on-time carrier — low-data carriers aren't ranked.
- PSA AirlinesOn-time71%Medianon timep9075 minCancel4.2%Flights259
- Republic AirwaysOn-time55%Medianon timep90110 minCancel8.3%Flights96
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline30%
- Weather9%
- Air traffic (NAS)14%
- Late aircraft46%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline11%
- Weather68%
- Air traffic (NAS)21%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 19 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 DCA → DSM
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Middays are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 79% on time.
- Middays79% on time · p90 30 min · 1,053 flights
- Overnights67% on time · p90 80 min · 752 flights
- Evenings62% on time · p90 100 min · 287 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 68% to 77% on time.
- Wednesdays77% on time · p90 40 min · 305 flights
- Tuesdays76% on time · p90 40 min · 308 flights
- Saturdays72% on time · p90 55 min · 290 flights
- Mondays71% on time · p90 70 min · 306 flights
- Sundays70% on time · p90 65 min · 308 flights
- Thursdays70% on time · p90 60 min · 303 flights
- Fridays68% on time · p90 60 min · 305 flights
Keep exploring