Historical on-time performance
Washington to Seattle
2,329 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–SEA arrive on time 74% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate74%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay55 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.6%of scheduled flights
based on 1,004 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
Too close to call — no single carrier is clearly more on-time here.
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time75%Medianon timep9045 minCancel1.5%Flights729
- Delta Air LinesOn-time69%Medianon timep9085 minCancel1.8%Flights275
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline24%
- Weather9%
- Air traffic (NAS)33%
- Late aircraft34%
- 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 → SEA
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-01 .. 2025-12).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 86% on time.
- Mornings86% on time · p90 15 min · 1,096 flights
- Evenings76% on time · p90 45 min · 1,093 flights
- Afternoons70% on time · p90 85 min · 298 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 74% to 86% on time.
- Saturdays86% on time · p90 25 min · 354 flights
- Tuesdays83% on time · p90 30 min · 357 flights
- Sundays82% on time · p90 35 min · 357 flights
- Fridays81% on time · p90 40 min · 354 flights
- Mondays80% on time · p90 35 min · 357 flights
- Wednesdays76% on time · p90 50 min · 357 flights
- Thursdays74% on time · p90 40 min · 351 flights
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