Historical on-time performance
Washington to New York
213 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–JFK arrive on time 73% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate73%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay50 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled5.9%of scheduled flights
based on 2,471 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- JetBlue AirwaysbestOn-time77%Medianon timep9045 minCancel5.5%Flights418
- Republic AirwaysOn-time72%Medianon timep9050 minCancel5.9%Flights2,053
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline22%
- Weather7%
- Air traffic (NAS)32%
- Late aircraft38%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline9%
- Weather39%
- Air traffic (NAS)52%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS). Shares are among 145 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 → JFK
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 · 2,141 flights
- Middays76% on time · p90 40 min · 2,301 flights
- Afternoons68% on time · p90 70 min · 615 flights
- Evenings63% on time · p90 75 min · 2,388 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 72% to 79% on time.
- Wednesdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 1,069 flights
- Tuesdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 1,066 flights
- Saturdays75% on time · p90 50 min · 1,061 flights
- Sundays74% on time · p90 50 min · 1,079 flights
- Thursdays74% on time · p90 50 min · 1,062 flights
- Mondays73% on time · p90 45 min · 1,069 flights
- Fridays72% on time · p90 55 min · 1,073 flights
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