Historical on-time performance
San Francisco to Washington
Flights on SFO–DCA arrive on time 77% of the time over the last 12 months.
based on 1,006 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.
- United AirlinesOn-time78%Medianon timep9040 minCancel0.8%Flights729
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time74%Medianon timep9040 minCancel1.4%Flights277
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline17%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)48%
- Late aircraft33%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Air traffic (NAS).
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline10%
- Weather80%
- Air traffic (NAS)10%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 10 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 SFO → DCA
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 — 84% on time.
- Mornings84% on time · p90 25 min · 2,185 flights
- Middays73% on time · p90 55 min · 409 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 79% to 88% on time.
- Saturdays88% on time · p90 15 min · 381 flights
- Tuesdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 379 flights
- Sundays83% on time · p90 30 min · 381 flights
- Mondays80% on time · p90 40 min · 379 flights
- Wednesdays80% on time · p90 30 min · 378 flights
- Thursdays79% on time · p90 40 min · 378 flights
- Fridays79% on time · p90 25 min · 382 flights
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