Historical on-time performance
Washington to Houston
1,218 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–HOU arrive on time 76% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate76%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay45 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.9%of scheduled flights
based on 1,056 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time76%Medianon timep9045 minCancel1.9%Flights1,056
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline28%
- Weather3%
- Air traffic (NAS)19%
- Late aircraft50%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline15%
- Weather60%
- Air traffic (NAS)25%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 20 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 → HOU
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 · 1,095 flights
- Afternoons78% on time · p90 45 min · 151 flights · limited
- Middays73% on time · p90 40 min · 886 flights
- Evenings64% on time · p90 75 min · 990 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 70% to 79% on time.
- Saturdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 321 flights
- Thursdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 468 flights
- Wednesdays78% on time · p90 30 min · 468 flights
- Tuesdays78% on time · p90 40 min · 468 flights
- Mondays77% on time · p90 45 min · 468 flights
- Fridays72% on time · p90 50 min · 471 flights
- Sundays70% on time · p90 55 min · 458 flights
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