Historical on-time performance
Washington to Seattle
2,329 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–SEA arrive on time 72% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate72%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay50 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.6%of scheduled flights
based on 1,066 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Alaska AirlinesbestOn-time75%Medianon timep9040 minCancel1.1%Flights729
- Delta Air LinesOn-time64%Medianon timep9085 minCancel2.7%Flights337
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline25%
- Weather11%
- Air traffic (NAS)34%
- Late aircraft30%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS).
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline41%
- Weather53%
- Air traffic (NAS)6%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 17 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 → SEA
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 — 85% on time.
- Mornings85% on time · p90 20 min · 1,096 flights
- Evenings74% on time · p90 50 min · 1,094 flights
- Afternoons69% on time · p90 70 min · 448 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 73% to 85% on time.
- Saturdays85% on time · p90 25 min · 378 flights
- Tuesdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 376 flights
- Fridays78% on time · p90 40 min · 378 flights
- Sundays77% on time · p90 45 min · 379 flights
- Mondays77% on time · p90 35 min · 376 flights
- Wednesdays74% on time · p90 50 min · 376 flights
- Thursdays73% on time · p90 45 min · 375 flights
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