Historical on-time performance
San Francisco to Washington
Flights on SFO–IAD arrive on time 81% of the time over the last 12 months.
based on 2,829 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
Not enough comparable data to name a most-on-time carrier — low-data carriers aren't ranked.
- United AirlinesOn-time83%Medianon timep9025 minCancel0.7%Flights2,671
- Alaska AirlinesOn-time48%Median15 minp9080 minCancel0.6%Flights158
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline38%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)20%
- Late aircraft42%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline57%
- Weather43%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 21 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 → IAD
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
On-time rates are fairly even by time of day on this route — ranging from 77% to 83% on time.
- Mornings83% on time · p90 25 min · 1,872 flights
- Overnights82% on time · p90 30 min · 2,718 flights
- Afternoons81% on time · p90 35 min · 1,075 flights
- Middays77% on time · p90 40 min · 2,544 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 79% to 82% on time.
- Tuesdays82% on time · p90 25 min · 1,122 flights
- Mondays82% on time · p90 25 min · 1,191 flights
- Fridays81% on time · p90 30 min · 1,221 flights
- Wednesdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 1,164 flights
- Saturdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 1,146 flights
- Thursdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,214 flights
- Sundays79% on time · p90 35 min · 1,221 flights
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